"So, this is a kind of … punishment?"
Daniel Zhang asked, his voice shivering. "But what have we done wrong to deserve such a punishment? I — all the earthlings have done nothing at all!"
"Just because we haven't done anything wrong right now doesn't mean that we haven't done anything wrong a long, long time ago."
The hunter still said coldly, "A long time ago, perhaps tens of thousands of reincarnations ago, before everything began, we — all the earthlings — made an unforgivable mistake. We were all unpardonable cold-blooded animals, bloody and tyrannical invaders, and captives of our own ambitions and greed. Driven by our infinite desires, we caused irreparable and irreparable damage to the entire universe. We almost destroyed the entire world and ourselves.
"Therefore, like Sisyphus in the myths, we have been imprisoned in the cage of time forever. On this infinitely looping Earth, we push the boulders on our hearts again and again, punishing our sins in such a way, even though such a punishment is not even one-thousandth of our sins."
"Well …"
Daniel Zhang obviously did not seem convinced.
Under the overpass, Li Yao's lips twitched, too.
The argument that "we were born with original sin" might be popular in the West, but for the Easterners who believed that "my life is in my own hands", it was a natural contradiction.
"Besides, this is not just punishment."
The hunter continued, "It is also salvation."
"Salvation?"
Daniel Zhang said, "I don't understand."
"Think about the novels and movies about the 'time loop' that you've read. Have you noticed that their exposition of the theme and the portrayal of the hero's escape from the predicament all have one thing in common?"
The hunter said, "Before entering the time loop, the hero is often a person who has serious psychological defects and suffers setbacks and misfortunes. He may be full of complaints about his life and feel extremely frustrated about everything around him. He may even hate all the people around him. Caught in the vortex and the abyss, he can't escape at all.
"Suddenly, one day, he is caught in the time loop and encounters the infinitely repeated 'April 1st'. Again and again, he hits the wall of time and bleeds. No matter how he cries and cries, he can't end everything.
"As a result, in the seemingly boring and repetitive life, the hero gradually learns to examine himself, finds the flaws in his character, finds a way to cleanse his soul, learns to get along with others in harmony, and finally discovers the true meaning of life. Only in this way can the time loop end, and the hero jump out of 'April 1st'.
"Mr. Niu, think about it carefully. Do most of the works about the 'time loop' follow such a rule?"
Daniel Zhang thought for a moment and said, "Seems right."
"Of course it is, because this is the significance of the existence of the World of Samsara. It is not only a punishment for us, but also a help for us to achieve the ultimate salvation."
The hunter said, "Our hands were stained with blood, and our souls were corrupted by darkness and evil. Our sins were unforgivable. Conventional methods were not enough to help us correct our mistakes and return to normal. Therefore, we were thrown into this special 'World of Samsara, the prison of time'. Every time we go through a cycle here, some of our sins will be washed away. After ten or a hundred cycles, some people will completely wash away the evilness and greed of the past. After ten thousand cycles, even the most stubborn villain will wash away his hostility and run toward a bright future.
"In the end, when all the people on Earth have washed away their sins and forgotten the evilness of the past and are completely redeemed, the infinite cycle of the World of Samsara will end, and we will jump out of 'April 1st' like the heroes in those sci-fi works and usher in a brilliant new life!"
"Wow, it sounds quite … incredible. I need time to think about it carefully. This shock is too great."
Daniel Zhang said, "Sorry, I, I didn't know anything about it last night. This morning, I just learned that human beings can eat hundreds of steamed buns in one meal. Then you tell me at night that I used to be a heinous invader who harmed the universe and was imprisoned in the prison of time of infinite samsara to be reformed? Wow, this is too exciting. Now my mind is a little messy. I need to digest it and sort out my thoughts. "
There was a long silence in the eavesdropping device. Li Yao could imagine Daniel Zhang's stupefied look.
Because he himself was more or less like that now.
After waiting for a full three minutes, Zhang Daniu continued, "However, I have a question. How did your 'Apocalypse Organization' find out about such a secretive and mysterious matter? Assuming, I mean assuming, that the Earth we live on is really a prison of infinite cycle, who on earth locked us up here? Who controls … the operation of the World of Samsara? "
"This question is very complicated. It's difficult to explain it in detail before you awaken."
The Hunter said, "To put it simply, we have been granted a certain amount of authority and unlocked some of the memories of countless samsara and even before samsara. Thus, we have mastered powerful superpowers and learned part of the truth.
"After you pass the test of the 'prophet' and are proved to be completely fine, you may be granted the corresponding authority to unlock more memories and abilities. At that time, you will understand everything."
"Wait —"
Daniel Zhang suddenly became smart. "You have been 'granted' a certain amount of authority? Who granted it? The dominator of the World of Samsara, the 'warden' who locked us up in this prison? What on earth is that? "
"A name is just a code name. The great, sacred, bright, and only existence has countless faces, countless supernatural powers, and countless names," the Hunter said.
"If you want, you can call it the 'Earth's Will'. But it is not the 'warden' of this prison of infinite cycle. To be more precise, it is the prison itself."
"…"
Daniel Zhang and Li Yao, who was hundreds of meters away, fell into the most shocked silence at the same time.
"This — this topic is too big. The 'Earth's Will'. I — I feel that my brain is not enough. I feel a little breathless."
Daniel Zhang said, "Let's talk about something more specific and subtle. Even if I believe everything you said, why did you obliterate so many 'observers, or creators of fantasy worlds'?"
"Because they were not real creators of fantasy worlds. None of the worlds that they created were groundless and imaginary," the Hunter said.
"As I said just now, the observers were all highly gifted guys who could vaguely observe what they were like before hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of samsara. They could also reflect the fragments of the observations into their works.
"Such a work is very likely to trigger the resonance of some of the earthlings, who are also the 'prisoners.' It will make the evil that the prisoners have suppressed and forgotten with great difficulty reignite from the ashes, making the redemption of tens of thousands of reincarnations in vain.
"Perhaps, the observers themselves were ignorant and did not understand how powerful and dangerous their works were. Simple and crude obliteration was somewhat unfair to them, but in order to prevent the sins of the past from happening again, we could not take the slightest risk. After all, if we obliterate them in this life, they could still be resurrected in the next life. After a couple of obliterations, they might completely forget the past and stop being 'observers'."
"It sounds like you were carrying out the order of the 'Earth' and helping it maintain the order of the World of Samsara and the Prison of Time. If it is a 'warden', you probably mean 'jailors'."
Daniel Zhang said, "Am I right to interpret it that way?"
"You can interpret it that way," the Hunter said.
"The 'prophet' conveyed the order of the 'Earth's Will' to us, which was the sacred 'apocalypse'. After being blessed by the apocalypse, we would be granted privileges beyond those of common prisoners and awaken certain memories and abilities. We could even bring those memories and abilities into the next samsara and become special 'jailors'."
"What about the 'Ark Foundation'?"
Daniel Zhang said, "You are 'model prisoners' and 'jailors'. What are they?"
"Of course, they are the most dangerous, brutal, disobedient, and stubborn prisoners."
The hunter sighed and said, "After countless samsara, most of the prisoners have already forgotten their sins in the past. They sincerely recognize their mistakes and repent and correct them dutifully. In your words, they are 'turning over a new leaf'. They also believe that as long as they persist in doing so, it won't take too many samsara for them to be released and accepted by the 'Earth's Will' again.
"However, there are always a handful of incorrigible fanatics in every prison. Those lawless guys have no remorse for their sins in the past at all, and they are not prepared to abide by all the rules and systems in the prison at all. They have never thought of being reformed dutifully. On the day they are 'released', they are thinking of ways to 'break out' from prison in their own way, or even destroy the entire prison and the sacred Earth!"
Destroy the Earth!
Destroy the Earth!
Destroy the Earth!
When Li Yao heard that, he suddenly felt that his brain was humming, as if burning bugs were crawling in and out of his head. He felt that his head was splitting apart, and he could not help but moan in the storm.
"Who am I?
"What am I doing here?
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