"Current mission completed. Main mission updated."
When Feng Bujue received the third bottle of medicine, the game menu stated, "Find and capture Billy in the fourth corridor and bring him to Rabbit in exchange for a bottle of chemical medicine." He had already put a tick on it.
The other quest, "Find the chemical medicine (3/4)", was refreshed.
Feng Bujue's shot was like killing a donkey after it had outlived its usefulness.
Ravid's head was hit by the bullet, and it exploded like a watermelon. Blood splattered everywhere, dying the table, the floor, the wall … and of course, Feng Bujue, who was close to him, was also dyed red.
Rabbit's body that was the size of a kangaroo fell backward. It knocked over the chair and landed heavily on the ground. Its curled rabbit legs were still twitching.
"The time now is …" Feng Bujue had lost count of how many times he had wiped away the stain on his face. "Sixty-five minutes." His eyes moved to the table. Billy the puppet had disappeared.
"But you don't seem to be able to continue this act." Feng Bujue laughed.
The light in the first cell came on on its own and Billy appeared. He was still sitting on the chair. The light from above shone on his eerie face. "Did I make a mistake somewhere? Is it because of this one mistake from Rabbit … "
"There are too many mistakes." Feng Bujue replied, "That was just my final test to confirm my suspicions." He placed the gun on the table, put his hands in his pockets, and walked slowly to the cell door. "About when I started to suspect … it should be from the beginning."
"Humph … even if you've seen through my plan, don't you think you're exaggerating a bit?" Billy said.
"You don't believe me? Do you not believe me or do you not want to believe me? " Feng Bujue's tone was provocative. "After all, I still have twenty-seven minutes before the poison kicks in. I have plenty of time to explain it to you."
He walked to the side and picked up the chair next to Ravid's body. He dragged it to the cell door and sat down across from Billy. He cleared his throat and said, "I will not repeat your opening speech in full. In any case … I believe that is a speech that you have carefully crafted. It is filled with traps and lies, and it is targeted at me personally. Just as you said later, you can indeed 'accurately predict people's minds'. At the very least, you know how to guide the direction and process of my reasoning. " He smiled. "But there is something that you shouldn't have said … 'You will meet some people and witness some things. What you see and hear might change your actions and interfere with your judgment.'"
"That statement … is just …" Billy wanted to interrupt.
However, Feng Bujue interrupted him and continued, "… is just to make use of my reverse psychology to make me doubt that what I see is an illusion and what I hear is a lie." He paused for a second. "But you and I both know that is the truth. Your entire opening statement, at least from your point of view, was the truth. You will not lie to the players when the rules are first announced. I believe that is a kind of pride, a kind of persistence. " He opened his arms and pointed at Rabbit's body. "Even when there is a need to lie, you try your best not to say it yourself. Most of the time, you will remain silent or say something ambiguous. And those deceptions will be done by a rabbit and … "Feng Bujue imagined Aldan." … and a monster that I have no idea what kind of monster it is. "
Out of habit, Feng Bujue used his index and middle fingers to rub his forehead and touch his nose. "There is no second timeline. The four corridors that lead to twenty-three, forty-six, and sixty-nine, and the change of time that goes forward and backward … That is all a smokescreen." He moved his face forward and tapped one of his temples with his finger. "You took advantage of my habit of solving mysteries and used a set of false rules to guide my thinking and actions.
You are indeed not bad. You must have thought through my analysis … The existence of the rooms, the distribution of the potions, the length of the corridors, the time needed to cross the corridors and so on … You know very well what information you should and should not give me.
Based on your guidance, there is actually only one route that I can take. "
Feng Bujue raised a finger. "In the fan-shaped room at the front, the performance in the first corridor was very successful. That did confuse me for a long time. You also know that based on my thinking, after seeing that, I would have chosen to explore the other corridors first. But then, two, three, four … "His finger changed." No matter which route I take, it will be the same. All you need to do is adapt to the situation when you come up with the rules.
No matter where I enter, you will arrange for me to run into Aldan first. The challenge of telling a ghost story was like a strange message left at a murder scene to disrupt the investigation. Using that method to send me directly to the end seemed quite normal, because the more inexplicable a situation was, the less likely it was for anyone to investigate it.
When I arrived at this so-called 'prison', the show officially started. Ravid and Aldan's words and your appearance in the prison were all to make me believe in your theory of time in the corridor.
This way, to not create a space-time paradox and to avoid the ninety-two minutes on the map, I only had one choice left — turn back from the second corridor, return from the fourth corridor, and then return to the first corridor. That is what you want me to do, and it is the only path that Ravid's theory points to. "
Feng Bujue turned around to look at the first corridor. "To put it more directly, you want me to use the gun that you gave me, enter the first corridor, and kill 'someone' behind the door without hesitation." He then looked at Billy. "According to your calculations, I should only have one Contra Medal left at that time, not the two I have now. I already had three bottles of potions and was about to pass the test. Coupled with the scene you showed me at the beginning … It was like a ticking time bomb buried in my head. At the last moment, with my personality, I have to admit that even if I die, I will try my best to reverse that scene … "He pointed at the gun on the table." In any case, based on the plot that you imagined, I will enter the first corridor, open the door, and kill everything that appears before me. "
Billy's attitude at this point was a different kind of calmness. "Since you've come to this conclusion, why don't you try to guess why I'm doing this?"
"It's very simple, you want to escape from prison, right?" Feng Bujue asked.
He was right. Billy raised his head slightly, and he was speechless.
"I believe … this whole space that we're in is a 'prison'." Feng Bujue scanned the four cells before him. "These four cells are just decorations." He used his finger to tap on the iron bars of the cell door. "Since we're at this point, let's talk about a few obvious flaws. As soon as I saw SCP-173, I was certain that the rabbit was lying. It said that the four prisoners were originally locked up here, ha … but why would the cell that holds SCP-173 be locked up with a door? " He joked. "Don't tell me an unblinking puppet like you is responsible for staring at SCP-173 through the bars all year round?"
"Furthermore, both Aldan and SCP-173 have the ability to teleport. What's the point of the length of these corridors?" Feng Bujue continued. "Also, you had Ravid claim to be Sam Montier's replacement. That was definitely a mistake. When you're in the same room, your presence and pressure are twice his. Do you think he'll be able to keep an eye on you? "
Feng Bujue shook his head and scoffed. "From how I see it, the real prison guard is guarding the entrance to this space, and the door to this prison is inside the first corridor." He opened his palm and pointed at Billy. "Your ability to manipulate space is undeniable. I believe … the length of these corridors and all the changes in the rooms are within your control. How long it will take me to run down the corridor and how long it will take me to run into a room is also within your control.
"But you and your subordinates, or rather, your cellmates … have arranged such a show, created so many complicated rules, created so many psychological clues, controlled the information I obtained, and patiently set up this trap … just to make me do something so simple?
You gave me the gun, Aldan has the finger to pull the trigger, and Ravid can try as well, so why didn't you do it yourselves? "
Feng Bujue crossed his legs. "Initially, my deduction was … that door, none of you should be able to open it, or even touch it or get close to it." He smiled, a wicked smile. "But now that I think about it, I realize …"
Feng Bujue did not share the basis of his deduction. His basis was actually the plot introduction. "Overlapping space, a game of death, endless terror, a recurring nightmare."
This was a hint given by the system at the start of the scenario and not spoken by an NPC or a boss. Those four sentences were the real key to unlocking the secret of this scenario.
The phrase 'overlapping time and space' coincided perfectly with Billy's scam. In a way, it had confused Feng Bujue, but at that moment, after taking out the information from these four sentences, Feng Bujue understood everything.
"You've done this many times already, haven't you?" Feng Bujue laughed. "After you kill the prison guard, you can't escape, right?"
"Is that so funny?" Billy asked.
"Then tell me, why isn't it funny?" Feng Bujue asked.
"Killing the prison guard will not only prevent us from escaping, but it will also trigger a recurring phenomenon," Billy replied. "The power that Ravid, Aldan, and I have recovered … especially our control over space and time will return to the starting point like time has been rewound, and only our memories will remain.
The SCP-173 that you mentioned … I have no idea what its name is. It is not our cellmate but part of the punishment. Every time we kill our way out of the prison, we'll be 'reincarnated' and encounter a brand-new monster like 173 in the prison. We'll be tortured and killed countless times … until our strength recovers and we're strong enough to control the prison again. "
"So, you wish to borrow my power to break this recurring phenomenon?" Feng Bujue asked.
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