Chapter 138: Stage Analysis
【Remaining Simulation Attempts: 8】
Buzz buzz buzz...
Lin Ye opened his eyes in the prison transport vehicle. His memory stopped at the moment he put the dessert in his mouth. As for the dessert's taste, he couldn't remember it anymore.
Only a slippery, fishy-salty sensation remained in his mouth.
'What exactly did it taste like? I really want to try another bite.'
Lin Ye licked his lips, feeling the urge to return to the restaurant.
'Wait, something's wrong. Why would I have such thoughts?'
'Has the illness not disappeared?'
'But the symptoms seem to have regressed to the first stage...'
'So this is a mental illness that affects the physical body, gradually worsening physically?' Lin Ye's expression turned serious. He wasn't too worried about this disease - returning to the Shelter should solve it.
But after being infected with this illness, each simulation's duration became compressed. Forget reaching the fourth stage, he couldn't even deal with the third-stage Aberration Train Attendant.
'Then I can only speed up my actions.'
'So what exactly are Aberrations? The second stage produces the young girl, the third stage produces various hostile Aberrations. Is the young girl also an Aberration?'
'The young girl and other Aberrations aren't mere illusions. The Aberrations are all individuals I've seen recently. Like the illness, are they also composed of both spirit and body?'
'But I've never seen the young girl before. What exactly is the difference between the second and third stages? Can I trust her?'
Lin Ye continuously pondered various questions. He discovered that as long as he generated enough questions to think about, the first stage's influence wouldn't be as severe.
The prison transport vehicle stopped once again outside the subway entrance. Lin Ye repeated his previous actions, being the first to enter the subway entrance.
This time, Lin Ye didn't search for that meaningless train ticket in the ticket hall, but went directly to the platform to look for tickets.
After obtaining the ticket to the Botanical Garden from the lounge, Lin Ye headed straight to the restroom on the other side of the platform.
This time, Lin Ye didn't read those reports. Since this was a pathogen spread through mental means, the transmission route was likely the information contained in those reports.
Although he was already infected now, increasing the dosage would likely accelerate the illness progression.
Moreover, the information in the reports might not necessarily be correct.
After entering the men's restroom, Lin Ye didn't encounter the monster that had torn apart Number One. Carefully searching the restroom, Lin Ye found a pitch-black train ticket behind the water tank in the third stall.
Laboratory ———— Silent Land
'Silent Land...'
Lin Ye had died once in the Silent Land, though his condition had been poor that time - he hadn't even figured out his own cause of death.
Putting away the ticket, Lin Ye searched the women's restroom again, but found nothing inside.
Vibrations came from the ground - the train was arriving.
Lin Ye boarded the train, and his communication with the Captain was cut off again.
The train started moving, the Train Attendant appeared, and Lin Ye handed the ticket marked "Silent Land" to the Train Attendant.
It wasn't that he thought Silent Land was safer than the Botanical Garden - he just wanted to go further away, at least to confirm the name of the organization's station.
'So what exactly is the organization station called?'
Not long after the train started moving, the illness's first stage officially began. A flood of chaotic thoughts poured into Lin Ye's mind. This time, he didn't stubbornly resist, but instead focused on contemplating questions that didn't require action.
'What exactly is the universe...'
'What is the system...'
'What is the purpose of the Abyssal Gate...'
'What cards will I draw tomorrow...'
Amid Lin Ye's chaotic thoughts, the train's broadcast sounded.
Next stop: Stomach.
Please prepare to disembark.
By the time Lin Ye regained his senses, the illness's first stage had already ended.
The train started moving, and strands of black hair wrapped around Lin Ye's body. The illness's second stage began as the young girl appeared beside Lin Ye.
Lin Ye closed his eyes and leaned back against the seat, contemplating how to extend the third stage's duration.
He needed more time to explore other stations.
'The first Aberration that appears in the third stage is the Captain from the earpiece. If I don't crush the earpiece, can I delay the appearance of the second Aberration?'
Lin Ye decided to give it a try this time.
After some time, the train's broadcast sounded.
Next stop: Botanical Garden.
Please prepare to disembark.
"At which stop are you getting off?"
Looking at the variously shaped plants outside the window, Lin Ye suddenly asked.
"I don't know either, but definitely not here."
The young girl bluntly gave a completely different answer from last time.
"Alright."
Since he was going to the Silent Land, Lin Ye didn't retrieve that ticket to the Restaurant this time.
After the train came to a stop, at roughly the same time as before, sound came from the earpiece.
Zzzzt... zzzzt...
"...Hey, can you hear me?"
After a burst of static, the Captain's voice came through the earpiece.
"Yes."
Lin Ye replied expressionlessly.
"Great, finally connected... Are you seeing hallucinations?"
The Captain asked.
"Yes, how did you know?"
Lin Ye dodged the young girl's hand reaching for the earpiece as he spoke.
"I can't say. Listen, don't trust what your eyes see, and don't trust strangers who suddenly appear in your field of vision. They're all part of the anomaly - they'll gain your trust, then guide you to make dangerous decisions."
The Captain seriously delivered the same lines as last time.
"Then what should I do next?"
Lin Ye continued making small talk with the Captain.
"What you're seeing is just hallucinations. If you believe they don't exist, they'll disappear."
The Captain didn't realize Lin Ye was stalling for time.
"But I can touch her. I can't just believe she doesn't exist."
Lin Ye grabbed a strand of squirming hair, continuing to trick the Captain into talking with him.
Regarding the illness, there was one thing Lin Ye still hadn't figured out: why did the young girl produced in the second stage show no hostility toward him?
Moreover, the third-stage Aberrations seemed to want Lin Ye to believe the young girl didn't exist.
Clearly both were abnormal entities produced by the illness, yet the second stage and third stage were mutually hostile. This was what puzzled Lin Ye the most.
So until he understood the young girl's purpose, Lin Ye couldn't trust her.
As Lin Ye and the Captain engaged in their back-and-forth, the train broadcast sounded again.
Next stop: Restaurant.
Please prepare to disembark.
Even now, the burly man hadn't appeared.
Just as Lin Ye had thought: as long as he didn't eliminate the Aberration, the next Aberration wouldn't appear.
Same as last time, the attendants in the restaurant outside the window smiled while watching Lin Ye sitting on the train. But this time, since Lin Ye didn't need to disembark, they could only watch the customers depart from within the restaurant.
Ever since the Captain's voice had sounded in the earpiece, the young girl had been trying to take Lin Ye's earpiece. Of course, she only showed this intention without seriously attempting to take action against Lin Ye. Otherwise, Lin Ye wouldn't have been able to stop her.