Chapter 46 Endgame 2: The Cycle

The answer is gradually becoming clear.

Beyond the open-ended map of the main body of Ying Kingdom, your current journey, which seems to have a larger "map," is actually a miniature model with a scope roughly the same as that of an "Arctic scientific expedition."

Your mission is to "travel," and all the activities along the way gradually lead to the final "climax."

After sharing the guess with everyone, a brief silence fell over the sunroom.

Xiao Ming broke the silence: "In other words, the key to leaving isn't on this ship. Waiting here is pointless. We still need to leave."

But outside, surrounded by glass walls, the twisted corridors, the convoluted bulkheads, and the melting escalators are all frozen in their bizarre forms. Where can one get out?

You, however, are lost in your own thoughts: the rules of cruise ships have always existed—even in this bizarre situation, there must be a way for you to get out of here.

I tried to recall the basic rules of the cruise ship: I had to return to my cabin before midnight, I had to obey the crew’s instructions, and I was not allowed to use the emergency exits without authorization.

"Emergency exit."

It's one of the rules, yet it's never truly been effective. All rules are designed to restrict behavior, but the emergency exit rule has never had a direct application scenario.

“Let me say it.” Xiao Fang’s eyes lit up, finally becoming excited. “Don’t you also feel that perhaps this rule is not restricting us, but guiding us?”

“That’s right, what could be more urgent than this situation? Since we’re VIP customers, there’s nothing wrong with using the emergency exit, right?” You stood up and walked to the door of the sunroom, feeling a mix of trepidation and anticipation.

Looking at the gap under the door, you thought for a moment, then reached into your pocket and took out your wallet.

“If the rules respond,” you whispered, then asked the air, “Can we use the emergency exit?”

There was no response; all was still and silent. Then, you pulled out a few king's heads and stuffed them through the crack in the door.

Seeing your actions, Xiao La couldn't help but ask, "You still want to tip when there's no one around?"

The banknotes disappeared the instant she finished speaking.

Okay, even though you're the one who did it, you're also a little speechless about it.

"They've been accepted." You shrug, looking at the three of them. "Let's go then."

"..." Xiao Ming hesitated, then said cautiously, "No matter what, we have no choice but to take a gamble."

The four of you carefully pushed open the door to the sunroom. The space outside remained in that distorted shape, but as you stepped in, a faint green light flashed in the distance.

"Emergency light," you said. There's hope!

As you walk in the direction of the light, the ground beneath your feet trembles gently with each step, as if the entire space of the cruise ship is opening a passageway for you.

As you continue forward, the green light appears and disappears, sometimes so bright it seems almost within reach, and sometimes so faint it almost vanishes.

Initially, you walk into a narrow corridor with rusty metal plates covering both sides of the walls. The once smooth walls have become wavy, and they are even slowly flowing.

"It's getting narrower and narrower here!" Xiao Fang tried to push open the walls on both sides with his hands, breathing rapidly.

Xiao La tried to push the wall open with his shoulder, but the metal plates didn't budge and instead made a screeching sound.

"Don't waste your energy," Xiaoming said in a deep voice. "It's forcing us to keep going, don't stop."

You nodded and led the way forward. The corridor was barely wide enough for you to squeeze past each other sideways. The cold touch of the metal panels seeped from your clothes onto your skin, and you shivered.

Just as Xiaoming squeezed out from the back, the corridor completely closed and sank downwards.

Without time to feel fear, you arrive at what appears to be an open area.

The floor beneath your feet is made of rusty steel plates, with cracks and holes all over its surface, and you can hear a slight creaking sound when you walk on it.

"Something's not right with this floor." As Xiao Fang walked, he lightly tapped the ground with his toes. "It's very thin and could collapse at any moment. Let's hurry up."

You quickened your pace, but just as you took a few steps, a sharp cracking sound suddenly came from beneath your feet. Little La let out a short scream and fell downwards!

"Xiao La!" You reach out and grab her wrist, pulling her back with all your might. Looking down, you discover that below you is a bottomless abyss.

"Don't let go!" Little La's legs were dangling in the air as she tried to grab the edge of the floor with her other hand.

Xiao Ming and Xiao Fang also gripped Xiao La's other hand and the brim of his hood tightly: "Let me pull you up! Don't panic!"

With everyone's help, they pulled Xiao Fang back to the ground. You all collapsed on the ground, panting heavily.

"We can't go any further from here," you said softly, wiping the sweat from your brow. "We need to think of another way."

"Look there." Xiaoming pointed to a metal handrail not far away, with the ship's gunwale hanging from it. "There's a rope there; we can use it to hoist it across."

You quickly got up, went around the collapsed area, and found the handrail. Xiaoming pulled hard, and after confirming that it could support weight, he was the first to grab the rope and slide to the other side.

"Hurry up, one at a time!" she called out from the opposite side.

You take a deep breath, grip the rope tightly, and carefully slide across. With each slide, the rope creaks and groans. At the last moment, your feet touch the ground, your heart pounding.

Keep going.

There were many other areas like this, such as those with reflective lights, all of which half-guided and half-hindered your progress. But you finally found the emergency exit.

The green light beside the door flickered slightly, as if welcoming your arrival.

You stood in front of the door, looking at each other, your faces filled with exhaustion and complicated emotions.

"What will be the consequences of going out?" Xiao Fang asked softly, smiling bitterly, "I know this is the last resort."

You all pushed the door open together, and the door creaked continuously as it slowly opened to both sides. A gust of cold wind rushed in from behind the door, carrying a salty and fishy smell.

“Let’s go.” You took a deep breath and took the first step.

As you step through the heavy "emergency exit" door, your body suddenly loses its support, your legs go light, and you feel as if you've been thrown into endless void. After a dizzying spin, you fall heavily onto a soft chair.

The familiar roar of the engine reached my ears, the steering wheel was firmly in my hands, and outside the car window was a sun-drenched highway in the morning light.

You froze, your heart pounding. Where are we? You've really returned to the beginning of the story!

Your fingers trembled as you touched the steering wheel, feeling the soft leather against your fingertips. You instinctively pressed the brake, the car lurched slightly, confirming that it was real.

His gaze swept over the three figures in the rearview mirror. Xiao Fang and Xiao Ming were fast asleep in the back seat, while Xiao La in the passenger seat had his head slightly tilted to the side, his arm resting on the door, his expression calm.

You were happy for a moment.

Yes, this proves that your previous choice was correct. You have truly found the "exit," and you've returned to the beginning of the story!

But what followed was a deeper sense of panic.

Damn it, why are you driving again?!

Stay calm. Last time, you were sitting in the passenger seat and you saw how Xiao La operated the steering wheel; you might still have some temporary memory of it.

With both hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, you try to recall those vague steps. Stepping on the brake, adjusting the steering wheel, releasing the accelerator—all of this happens in just a few seconds. You operate cautiously, and the car barely manages to maintain a steady forward speed.

Fortunately, it was a long and straight road, and the surrounding vehicles were driving very fast, so no one came to cause trouble for you.

"Little La! Hurry up, it's time for you to wake up and take your shift!" You remember that at the beginning, Little La woke up only a little bit later than you.

When Xiao La opened her eyes in the passenger seat, she let out a scream so loud it made you jump.

"Where am I?!" Xiao La jerked back, gripping the seatbelt tightly, her eyes filled with terror. She looked like she'd just woken from a nightmare, her face pale and tinged with the anger of someone just awakened. "Wait, what's going on?"

A chill ran through you, and just as you were about to speak, Xiao Fang woke up. She rubbed her temples, looked around blankly, and when her eyes met yours, her expression changed to one of great surprise: "Oh my god, what a coincidence, you're here too!"

.

"I can't drive, hurry up and come here." You're not in the mood to calmly explain the situation to Xiaola right now. Fortunately, she's still the same Xiaola who obediently listens to someone who clearly knows what to do when she doesn't know what to do.

You quickly changed positions, and the car finally drove smoothly.

Only then did you have a moment to process the chaos in your heart. Things were worse than you had imagined—only you had returned to the starting point; everyone else seemed to have been "reset" by this world, and Little Ra, a newbie who had just joined this instance, was a complete stranger.

"Can anyone explain this?" Xiao La asked, dissatisfied.

"Ah, we are now in a dungeon world..." Xiao Fang enthusiastically introduced the basic information about the world.

This gives you the opportunity to think deeply.

If you are the only one with the memory, is this a rewind of time, or a restart? Has time truly flowed backward, or is it just a more sophisticated illusion?

"Could it be... that all of this started because of me?" A more terrifying assumption pops into your mind: Is the planner of this trip destined to bear everything alone? Can I be the only one to break the cycle? Does no one else exist, and is this journey entirely your own?

This is terrifying. But you have to consider all the possibilities.

Your thoughts were interrupted by a commotion from the back seat. You turned around and saw Xiaoming staring coldly at the boy sitting in the corner, a small knife already in her hand.

Without uttering a single unnecessary word, Xiaoming raised his hand to stab, just like before.

You quickly interrupted Xiaoming: "Stop! Don't be impulsive, this is not the way to solve the problem."

Seeing that the danger had passed, the man flinched, then immediately tried to act tough, muttering under his breath, both angry and humiliated, "I was just sharing some experiences from studying abroad, I didn't expect you guys to be so sensitive..."

Seeing your objection, Xiaoming silently put away the knife, stopped talking, leaned back in his seat, and closed his eyes.

She was a little annoyed. You awkwardly touched your nose, but you really felt that this person couldn't just die like that right now.

You really feel that this man's presence is not quite right. If the first time you just thought it was okay that he was dead, this time you're looking at him with a nitpicking mentality, and everything seems strange.

"Why is there a boy?" This question is like a tangled mess in your mind.

You've probably read quite a few posts on Little Green Book. Girls' group travel gatherings with strangers are usually all girls. If there are boys, it's usually a special case of a group of more people.

But right now, there's only one man on the bus, which is really unreasonable.

To kill time and to find a breakthrough, you take out your phone and open your chat history.

On the "Little Green Book," you stumbled upon the post you made years ago—a simple request for travel buddies: "Want to join me on a luxury cruise trip by car? We can take turns driving, take photos of each other, and look after one another~"

The chat history quickly surfaced: "Xiaoming" was the first to reply, with just a few words, his tone indifferent yet decisive: "Okay."

Then came "Xiao Fang," who sent a long message full of enthusiasm, expressing her anticipation for the trip and adding some suggestions.

Xiao La replied in a friendly tone, "I happen to have a holiday, I'll come!"

But right after those few messages, the boy's name suddenly appeared. His reply was simple: "I want to go too, I'd love to experience a cruise."

And you didn't question the legitimacy of a man joining in at all.

As you piece together your memories, you discover even more inconsistencies.

For example, the smoothness of the travel plan: your plan wasn't affected at all by his addition; on the contrary, it seemed to make things even more logical. Even the hotel bookings didn't seem to have considered him.

This man's existence is simply not right.

So, it wouldn't be a problem if Xiaoming just killed him like that.

Headache.

Unable to bear the loneliness any longer, this person started chattering again. A sudden, inexplicable irritation welled up inside you.

"It would be better to just let Xiaoming kill him with one blow..."

The thought flashed through your mind, and you suddenly froze, a chill creeping up your spine. This malevolent aura… it was all too familiar.

It's exactly the same corrosive feeling you experienced when facing the ouroboros on the cruise ship. Didn't you break free of control? Was this your intention, or... some kind of influence?

You take a deep breath and begin to carefully consider the source of these thoughts.

"In this game, there are no coincidences." This is a truth that Xiaoming, Sister Li, and others have all come to realize. Every person, every event, and every rule has its own meaning.

"If nothing is a coincidence, then what does this boy's existence really mean?" you murmured to yourself, your gaze fixed on the nonchalant figure in the rearview mirror.

You turn to look at Xiao La, who has been chatting with Xiao Fang the whole way and has already become one of you. You smile and say, "There's a rest stop ahead, let's go there and rest for a bit."

Everyone agreed.

The car slowly pulled up at the rest stop. Xiaoming, Xiaofang, and Xiaola got off and stretched, while the man seemed to be enjoying your unabashed gaze.

You approach Xiaoming and whisper, "Lend me your knife, I need it for something."

Xiao Ming raised an eyebrow at you, didn't ask any questions, and deftly handed you the knife: "Be careful."

"Don't worry." You took the knife and gripped the handle tightly.

You turn and walk towards the boy: "Hey, come here for a second, I have something to tell you."

He looked up at you, a disgusting smile playing on his lips: "So you finally want to talk to me? Fine."

vomit.

“Yes.” You nodded, pointing to a corner without surveillance cameras—there were police booths at the rest stop, and you didn’t want to be taken away for no reason. “Let’s talk.”

He shrugged, following behind you with a smug look on his face. At three in the afternoon, the shadows of the two of you were cast on the ground, neither long nor short.

Once you get there, you're too lazy to listen to his nonsense, so you just pull out your knife and swat it down cleanly!

The blade plunged into his throat, and you closed your eyes, anticipating the gushing blood. But a moment later, you didn't feel any blood splatter on you.

When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by a sight that was completely beyond his imagination—the blood was not flowing, but rather, like a river flowing backward, it was slowly receding back into his body.

"Help me—" he struggled, his eyes filled with despair, and then, he stopped moving.

His head drooped naturally, and the area where the blood flowed back began to change color rapidly. His skin became grayish and sticky, and his hands began to melt. His skin slid off in chunks like mud, revealing the grayish-brown "muscle tissue" underneath.

As his body continued to deform, his facial features gradually blurred, and his smile turned into an empty, expressionless face.

"Do you think you can get rid of me?" His voice became hoarse, the tone of Xiao Nu and Xiao Nan's voice was very eerie. "You found me, so what? Do you think killing me will end all this?"

As soon as he finished speaking, his entire body collapsed. A mass of grayish-brown mud piled up on the ground, bubbling and emitting a putrid stench.

You hold your breath, your eyes fixed on the center of the mud—where something slowly begins to emerge.

When the mud completely dissipated, only a delicate little sculpture remained on the ground. It lay there quietly, its serpentine body coiled upwards, its head biting its tail, forming a perfect loop.

Instead of picking it up, you took out a fire poker and a seashell that weren't actually in your bag, but you knew were in your bag.

“If you hadn’t said those things, I might not have been so sure. Now I understand. This man was destined to die. The first time, when things were going according to plan, his absence was the reason we boarded the ship. This time, discovering him was the reason I ‘prepared to kill the Ouroboros.’” You slowly explained your conjecture. “If I hadn’t discovered him, or tried to change his predetermined fate, I would never have been able to escape the cycle, right?”

"So you both led us here and fear our arrival. You can't let us starve to death in the sunroom, because then you can neither start a new cycle nor stop it, and can only fight to the death with our souls—" You chuckled softly. You didn't believe in ghosts and gods, but in this kind of world, perhaps souls really exist, "—to the very end."

The ouroboros is a symbol of intertwined cause and effect; only by tearing it apart can the cycle be broken.

The tip of the fire poker burst into flames, and instantly, everything around you, including the air, except for the corner beneath your feet, was burned away layer by layer, like a sticker.

You stand within it, and the ground beneath your feet gradually disappears, like pieces of loose tile, pushing you into an even smaller space. Instinctively, you lower your head, and eventually, the entire world is reduced to a solitary platform.

Standing in the center of the platform, you are surrounded by endless darkness and slowly floating debris. The captain stands before you, her expression still stern, wearing that familiar uniform, as if she had never been affected by the chaos of this collapse.

She gazed at you, a faint smile playing on her lips, without saying a word. That smile carried a chilling calm, as if she had already seen through everything.

"Get out of my way!" you shouted, trying to sound intimidating.

The captain didn't answer, but simply took a step forward. Her movements were extremely slow, but each step felt like a pronouncement. She stopped in front of you, raised one hand, as if preparing to do something.

The alarm blared!

But the captain just smiled slightly, extended a finger, and gently placed it on your shoulder.

She gave you a hard push, and you lost your balance, falling backward. There was no pain, no fear, only a vast, weightless feeling.

You turn around and find yourself, along with Xiaoming, Xiaofang, and Xiaola, falling towards a familiar scene. The outline of the pier gradually becomes clear, and you recognize it as an airport boarding gate.

Your body gently lands on the ground, surrounded by bustling passengers, and the sound of an announcement in English reminds you of the boarding time.

And in your hand, you hold a plane ticket back to your home country that you've already checked in for.

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A note from the author: Good afternoon!