Epilogue (Part 2) [Rule 5]
The moment Taizi asked me for help, I would never have thought that it was the prophet who was greedily calling me for survival.
The fake people all transformed into Xu Ranxing, not because the prophet was weak and out of control, but because it originally needed so many Xu Ranxings for it to hide among them.
The boss and the fake people each have their own calculations and plans. Have you ever thought that behind them are all deceptions of the prophet?
Zhang Tian glanced at me with a complicated expression.
"You probably don't know that you were giving me directions intermittently while you were unconscious. It was because of you that I was able to find this sky crack by fighting my way out of the tunnel."
I smiled bitterly: "Why don't you doubt me?"
He shook his head: "Does it mean I don't care about you if I doubt you?"
I suddenly became speechless and looked down, feeling a bitter taste in my mouth.
"So, actually, when I was down there, only my eyes became transparent? This wasn't a change in the environment at all. The prophet gradually cut off its vision and gave it to me, misleading me. The more it gave me, the more I could... make my wishes come true."
Zhang Tianyi sighed: "But you are too suspicious."
My eyes felt a little sore. Yes, that's just my personality. I always feel that something is strange and wrong, and I always doubt and need an answer.
So after I got into the water, the prophet gave me the answers I wanted in a timely manner at almost every stage, and when he was temporarily unable to answer, he immediately changed the scene and situation, making me run around in a hurry, and being swept forward by the sudden changes in my situation and the huge amount of information.
Whenever I feel something is vaguely wrong, it throws out an explosive message that is attractive enough to divert my attention, give me a reasonable object of suspicion, and let me convince myself that all the discomfort comes from other people and things.
It doesn’t want me to doubt myself.
But in the Stone Forest Quarrying Map, the prophet can only use so much material, and all the information that may arouse my vigilance should be stopped abruptly. After constant cutting and confusion, the prophet had to speed up the pace, and even began to not understand it very well, just let me run for my life without any time to think.
The prophet was unlucky to meet a difficult target like me, which was quite tragic. I thought with some sadness and amusement, as expected, any plan could be messed up by me, and the situation never worked properly when it came to me.
But now that things have come to this, I have slowly made up my mind and know that I shouldn't go out.
I remember a paradox about a ship called the Ship of Theseus, which was made entirely of wood, and as time went by, people replaced the decaying wood one by one.
So here's a question: if one day every original piece of wood on the ship has been replaced, is the ship still the original ship?
If someone replaced the original wood and reassembled another ship, then which of the two ships would be the real Ship of Theseus?
Now the Prophet and I are these two ships.
In order to survive, the prophet went against his previous hunting habits and stopped devouring me. Instead, he chose to be replaced and assimilated by me.
This assimilation started from that seemingly funny misunderstanding, from the fake people turning into a group of Xu Ranxing, until this moment when I almost completed the final escape.
It was doing a subtraction, completely abandoning and flattening the self, just like a completely collapsed and blank drawing paper in front of my eyes, destroying the long-existing quarrying map and allowing everything named Xu Ranxing to cover it.
At this point I can no longer get out of this paradox.
In my cognition, I really can't say that I am not Xu Ranxing; but I have to admit that I am just a brand new organ that the prophet found after he made a desperate move and gave up all the foundations of his survival. I am no different from the pseudo-people in essence.
I don't know if this can be considered a kind of evolution. After all, the prophet seems to have no personality or consciousness. If it only pursues the definition of being alive, then for it to eat me and be eaten by me is just the difference between the new and old Ship of Theseus, a stream accidentally merging with another mountain stream to become a new body of water that continues to flow.
When I drink a lot of water, allowing water to enter my metabolism and participate in the aging and regeneration of my cells, when all the cells in my body are replaced by this water, can I separate my own existence from this water?
The more I think about it, the more puzzled I find.
The only thing I know for sure is that the Prophet will not be satisfied.
Because humans are actually very fragile. Once Xu Ranxing escapes from here, one day the prophet will continue to operate and live within Xu Ranxing's framework, and will inevitably be on the verge of death again in an incident that he is forced to be involved in. At that moment, I don't know what kind of ghost thing it will evolve into again.
Even if there is no disaster or pain, the life span of a person is no more than a hundred years. The footsteps of death are always fair and will still come. There is no escape. At that time, the prophet who mutates again will no longer have a second group of miners to check and balance him. It will definitely be a terrible disaster.
Then the best solution is to simply ignore the dispute between me and the prophet Theseus and completely seal me in this special stone tomb.
After saying all this, Zhang Tianyi rarely said anything, but just nodded occasionally while listening.
I understand that this decision is actually very harsh for the people around me, but since I have pointed out this trap, it means that I have completely exposed myself to the iron rules of entering and exiting the mine, and the Prophet and I will definitely not be able to leave.
"So," I said a little disappointedly, my mind had already entered the state of the living dead in the ancient tomb, ready to make my last words, "We are parting in life and death, there are some things and some questions that you should explain to me clearly."
Zhang Tianyi thought about it and asked me a question:
"When you were unconscious, you occasionally talked to yourself about Pingping. Did you see her down there?"
It was then that I remembered that I had not yet told him what I had been through. Since we were going to part ways, I should make everything clear both publicly and privately to bring the whole incident to an end. So I asked him to give me some time so that I could tell him in detail.
This time he was even more silent. Sometimes I even doubted whether he was listening or not, because his reaction was too indifferent. It seemed that he was somewhat familiar with the things that the prophets used as explosive points to attract my attention.
I couldn't help but feel a little worried again, but my current identity was a bit awkward, and I couldn't seem to find the right position to question him. For a moment, I felt so uncomfortable that I wanted to vomit blood.
After finally finishing the story of what happened in the mine, Zhang Tianyi nodded and actually leaned to the side, as if he was going to continue to catch up on his sleep and regain his consciousness.
I was stunned, and the words "goodbye" were stuck on my lips. I was a little puzzled: "You're not leaving yet?"
I muttered to myself, maybe this guy is planning to have a good nap and wants me to set an alarm clock for him.
But no matter what, I am Xu Ranxing now after all. Even if things are not good enough, you have worked hard to show me the way, so there is no need to be so cold to me.
Just when I was feeling uncomfortable, Zhang Tianyi opened his eyes, looked at me, and smiled: "I'll stay too."
I was confused and didn't quite understand what he meant by "stay too". Then my mind started buzzing and I angrily called him a psychopath and told him to get out of here and not play the game of living and dying together with me. He still had parents to support at home and they were all in the same household registration book. I couldn't control him, so did he have to be an unfilial son?
I don't believe he can't leave. This bastard has a lot of secrets and is always elusive. It would be a miracle if we could trap him.
For a moment, I was so angry that I felt dizzy. In the narrow earthen cave, I wanted to punch him with my fist.
We stared at each other for a long time, and before I could recover, I heard him say, "What do you think would happen if you were the only one left here?"
I was stunned as to what would happen, and thought to myself that although I was going to be a hero and sacrifice myself, I was not going to torture myself in vain.
If possible, ask Zhang's guys to bring me a hanging basket and some tools. At worst, I can live alone and make a doghouse with my own chisel and axe. It's just like being trapped in the mine. I can still live a good life.
If they still remember the feelings between us and are willing to send me some supplies regularly, and build a powerful signal tower to connect to the Internet, it won't be a big deal for an unfilial son like me to live alone for the rest of my life. At most I'll get rheumatism and cold legs.
If not, what if the mine's quarrying landscape is destroyed and closed periodically, flattening me into a second dimension, or the people above cannot have any contact with me, should I just wait to die of thirst or hunger and find a place to jump down happily.
In the end, it's just a matter of closing your eyes and gritting your teeth. It's not that difficult.
Zhang Tian looked at me and said, "Think about it again."
I was a little angry and ashamed, thinking that if I kept thinking about it, my legs would become weak. Being a hero requires a strong spirit. If I kept thinking about how to die alone, even an iron man would not be able to bear it. Let him fart quickly and don't waste my rare heroic spirit.
Wait, die.
I felt like I was hit by a hammer, and suddenly I saw stars in front of my eyes, and then I reacted.
In the final analysis, everything I just said was just my personal inference, without any evidence. Zhang Tianyi just listened and asked a few questions occasionally, without giving me any definite response.
But if Zhang Tianyi left and left me alone here, it would undoubtedly confirm my inference.
According to the rules of the mine, his identity was confirmed and he could not leave. For the prophet who might have given up everything at this point, this was tantamount to a death sentence.
From the perspective of a prophet, when I was dying, I would do two things:
First, kill Zhang Tianyi, the witness who threatened my life in disguise and made it impossible for me to leave;
Second, he would do whatever it took to mutate again, trying to violently tear down the mine and break free.
"So I can't leave."
Zhang Tian smiled and leaned against the wall of the earthen nest, with a look of frank helplessness on his face:
"The Zhang family's guys have been missing for a long time. I did it because they will definitely save Xu Ranxing at all costs. I found a way to make some smoke bombs to lure them to search for someone else. I also had Dongzai taken away and put him under guard, because this little cat is connected to Xu Ranxing through the rules of the post, and it can almost be said that he will inevitably have an invisible resonance with the real Xu Ranxing."
"So now, I am the only one left in this mine who can prove whether you are the real Xu Ranxing."
"As long as I stay here, it becomes impossible to tell whether it's for the friendship between our families or simply to keep an eye on the prophet and not allow it to leave. My presence here means that your identity is still in doubt, and it's not an absolute dead end."
"The Zhang family may also discover my smoke bomb at any time and come to rescue us. You see, everything is very hopeful. Maybe we will be out of trouble in the next second."
I was speechless, and he raised his hand and patted my forehead. Then I heard him say in a tone that made me angry:
"So don't get mad, don't transform, and don't kill me. Xu Ranxing wouldn't murder his own brother. Don't do anything to prove your identity."
I was stunned. I stared at him for a while, then I couldn't help laughing. I shook my head and leaned back against the wall of the burrow, thinking to myself that this bastard did have a point.
Anyway, the deduction just now is just my one-sided statement. As long as we keep this unclear situation and cannot confirm my identity, it will not stimulate the prophet's survival instinct.
I really don't want to pretend to be a human for a long time, then suddenly lose control and tear off the human skin and bleed, and then find out that I am indeed a monster. All the sincerity and affection just now were unconscious mimicry of the monster. That would be too sad. It is a good thing to be able to continue to deceive myself as a human until the moment of death.
"Then take it easy. When you see me dazed and about to die, then sneak away. Don't let me find you." I said, feeling a little emotional in my heart.
Compared to being slaughtered without any resistance, it seems not so bad that we dragged the prophet to death together and made him very anxious. At least my epitaph will say that I died from a great life of immorality, which is quite impressive.
My only regret is that I came here in a foolish way, and I am afraid I will die a miserable death today. Not only did so many important clues pass away in vain, but I thought I was meeting an old friend again, but it turned out to be nothing more than my own delirious mumbling under the control of the prophet.
I was somewhat depressed, but Zhang Tianyi did not have many negative emotions. He even had the energy to correct me:
"I really left a timed message for the Zhang family, and someone really came to rescue them at the appointed time. What's the use of life or death? Don't scare the prophet for no reason."
I was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, but my mood actually relaxed, so I lay down and dozed off.
My eyelids twitched for a moment, and then I remembered something and said unintentionally, "Wait, are you interrupting me again? You didn't answer any of my questions."
Moreover, when I took a break, I thought of the invisible giant corpse. I seemed to have thought of something, but I was so exhausted that I had no inspiration.
Zhang Tianyi just said "oh" when he heard it, as if he was pretending not to hear it.
I pushed him twice more before he slowly said, "I was the one who found San Yi."
This answer was completely unexpected to me. I paused and was stunned.
"I also need to abide by the rules of the mine. In other words, I can't necessarily be Zhang Tianyi."
His tone became a little strange. "Look, a person who suddenly appeared after many years, and no one around him knows about your relationship and has no way to verify it; a person who has cooperated with others time and time again, and has plans to hurt you and kill you openly or secretly, and even Xu You and the others have repeatedly emphasized that you should not trust him..."
"Can you confirm who he is?"
I froze in place and suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
But he laughed again and pressed on my carotid artery. I was not sure whether he wanted to knock me out or kill me, but my vision suddenly went black and I passed out.
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Rule 5, see this chapter for instructions
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