This Character is Suspected of Cheating! [Unlimited Flow]

Gedai still remembered the scene when he had gone to move the nutrient solutions. The water stains beneath those crates had struck him as strange at the time, but they had been in a hurry to prepare dinner, and there hadn't been enough clues to support any conclusions, so Gedai could only put the matter of the water stains out of his mind.

But now, recalling those water stains in light of their previous deductions sent an instant chill down his spine.

Whether corrosive rainwater had gotten inside or the ship itself had been damaged, either possibility would mean a total wipeout for them. The storm outside continued unabated, corrosive rain pouring down in torrents with nowhere to hide from it.

“Let's go check!” Gedai immediately turned to leave.

He Yu said, “Wait.”

He didn't waste any time and immediately assigned tasks. “Wanrenzhan and Zhen Xing, check the warehouse. Qiong and Gedai, find a way to inspect the damage to the cruise ship's outer hull from the bridge. Yuan Ze, Zhante, Duan Yuchen, Tang Ke, inspect the entire cruise ship. I want specific data. Gedai and Qiong, coordinate with everyone else.”

“Okay.”

Knowing that time was critical, everyone agreed and immediately turned to leave.

They still didn't know who had killed Barre. Perhaps there was still a “mole” hidden among them, or perhaps some other danger was lurking nearby... Therefore, even while splitting up to work, they had to remain in groups of at least two.

And the person whose safety was least guaranteed was He Yu, so Ling Buchen and Bo Jingshan stayed behind to protect him while Eugene piloted the ship.

The Mechanical Planet contestants and Qiong were the ones most capable of obtaining accurate data, but Eugene had to stay behind to pilot the ship, so the burden could only fall on Gedai and Qiong.

After the eight of them left, He Yu looked at the image on the display screen.

Outside, it was still as dark as an abyss, as though a bloody maw was hidden within the darkness, capable of devouring everything without leaving a trace.

He took a deep breath, withdrew his gaze, and took out his notebook and pen.

While piloting the ship, Eugene asked curiously, “He Yu, why didn't you explain the disorder in the cycle's sequence? Do you still not have enough clues?”

Because his “captain” identity had merely been granted by the instance, Eugene's ship-handling skills were quite mediocre. And since he had to maintain the highest possible speed, he needed to devote his full attention to it.

But the current terrible situation concerned everyone's life and death. He had to pay attention. Even while concentrating fully on piloting the ship, he still had to spare enough attention to prick up his ears and listen to their progress, so naturally, he had questions.

He Yu scribbled in his notebook while casually answering, “Mm.”

There was still information and evidence missing. Until his conclusion reached at least eighty percent certainty, he had no intention of saying anything.

Eugene didn't give up. Instead, he became even more interested. “The you from the second cycle is cooperating with the current you, so how is he supposed to pass information to you? The clues he deduces—how is he going to tell you about them?”

That was deeply puzzling.

At least Eugene couldn't imagine how the version of himself from the previous cycle could possibly cooperate with the version of himself in the current cycle.

He Yu's pen paused briefly, then continued writing.

“I don't know.”

His responsibility was solving the problem. Passing along information was the responsibility of his previous self. If He Yu tried to concern himself with both sides, he would only waste time and once again end in failure.

Eugene couldn't figure it out and remained puzzled. “What if the clues he left for you were erased by the mastermind? After all, some things cycle and others don't. Every cycle follows the same general course, but the details differ. Could the mastermind alter those details?”

He Yu abruptly raised his head and looked at him.

Eugene noticed from the corner of his eye and froze slightly. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

His voice rose in disbelief. “Wait, information really could be erased? Then wouldn't the you from the previous cycle have done all that work for nothing?!”

Doing all that work for nothing wasn't actually the worst part. After all, the previous cycle was already over, and its outcome had already been decided.

But He Yu needed the information from that previous cycle!

The He Yu of the second cycle was supposed to deduce the truth and pass it to the He Yu of the third cycle, while the He Yu of the third cycle only needed to solve the problems, saving precious time.

But if the He Yu of the second cycle couldn't pass along the information, how was the He Yu of the third cycle supposed to solve anything?

They had to remember just how many complicated problems they were facing right now.

Who had killed Barre?

Was there a mole among them?

What was the truth behind the cycle?

How could they break the cycle?

How could they leave alive?

And who exactly was the mastermind?

An enormous pile of questions was stacked before them, and it was already one in the morning. There were only seven hours left until eight. Once eight o'clock arrived and they left Gama Strait, the cycle would continue.

And they would undoubtedly die.

Hearing this, Ling Buchen and Bo Jingshan frowned slightly as well.

He Yu's rimless glasses rested on the bridge of his nose, his eyes razor-sharp. “You're right. Some things cycle and some don't. Even people who ‘died’ can cycle back to life. Erasing a little information would be effortless.”

He lowered his eyes and flipped through the notebook in his hands, carefully scanning every page...

Nothing.

There was nothing.

If this instance could even erase records from his notebook, then any information he had left behind during previous cycles could certainly be erased as well.

Nothing would be left for him.

Would his previous self have anticipated that?

Yes.

He definitely would have.

Therefore, whatever information his previous self intended to pass along had to be transmitted in a way that couldn't be erased.

He still hadn't received much information.

Was it simply not time yet?

He Yu slowly closed his eyes, concealing the sharpness within them.

At that moment, the others began returning one after another.

Wanrenzhan was the first to return. His expression was grave, his voice hurried. “Zhen Xing and I checked the warehouse. Sure enough, water is getting inside. Black, corrosive seawater.”

The warehouse below deck was flooding, and they had nothing capable of patching it.

Sooner or later, this ship would sink...

Eugene's breathing quickened.

Ling Buchen pursed his lips, remaining silently behind He Yu.

Bo Jingshan slowly straightened, holding his blade as he stared fixedly at Wanrenzhan.

He Yu didn't look surprised.

“The data?”

Wanrenzhan said, “Gedai recorded the data from the bridge, then went to the warehouse to take measurements there.”

His heart was filled with panic, but under He Yu's calm gaze, he gradually settled down.

—Anxiety and panic were useless.

Ten minutes later, everyone had returned, bringing extremely bad news.

Yuan Ze's face was dark. “As expected, the damage to the special material of the cruise ship's outer hull doesn't cycle. I originally thought that with this cruise ship, at least we wouldn't have to fear the corrosive rain. I didn't expect...”

Zhante took a deep breath, his expression ugly. “The warehouse is damaged. A lot of corrosive seawater has already seeped inside. There's also a small crack in the room at the farthest corner of the first floor, similar to the one in the bridge, and corrosive rainwater is getting through it. We moved the carpet, tables, chairs, and other things over there.”

Of course, they hadn't moved those things there to seal the crack.

Nothing could block that black corrosive rainwater.

They had merely used those things to delay the corrosion of the cruise ship.

What they lacked most was time.

—Of course, it wouldn't delay it for long.

He Yu nodded.

Zhen Xing thought for a moment and suggested, “We can use everything we have to delay the corrosion. As long as we can hold out until eight tomorrow morning, perhaps we'll get another chance.”

Ling Buchen frowned and shook his head, rejecting the suggestion. “Once we leave Gama Strait at eight in the morning, we'll cycle again. Even if we barely manage to hold out until eight, we still have to find a way to escape the cycle.”

Otherwise, the moment eight o'clock arrived, they would have failed.

Eight o'clock was simultaneously the moment they desperately wanted to endure until and the moment they were terrified of facing.

He Yu held out his hand. “Gedai, the data.”

Gedai handed He Yu all the data he had recorded.

Gama Strait was extremely unusual. Naturally, in a place where corrosive rain could fall, they couldn't use their smart devices for communication.

But as long as a smart device could still turn on, its most basic recording functions could be used.

Gedai himself could transform into an extremely useful detector. The signal interference in Gama Strait didn't affect that very much.

He Yu dragged over a chair and sat down, staring fixedly at the data. Clearly, he had entered a state of intense calculation, occasionally lifting his pen to write and draw in his notebook.

At this moment, he was like a high-precision computer running countless calculations in the background.

One number after another flashed through his mind.

The others didn't dare disturb him. They exchanged glances and saw the same worry reflected in each other's eyes.

Qiong let out a long sigh. “This instance... is really difficult.”

Duan Yuchen said, “The closer we get to the finals, the harder it was bound to become. The mastermind wants to stop us here. They won't give us a chance to enter the finals.”

Zhante found something strange. “If we all die too, wouldn't this season end without a ‘Top Talent’?”

Gedai remained expressionless, his voice cold. “Does that matter? We may not have figured out who the mastermind is, but everyone already knows they exist, and their interference with <Top Talent Show> is already extremely obvious.”

Everyone knew there was a mastermind.

Everyone knew the mastermind was interfering with the competition.

Under circumstances like these, if the mastermind simply stopped pretending and became even more ruthless, so what?

Tang Ke murmured, “Last season at least had a Wanrenzhan. This season... is actually going to end in a total wipeout?”

Qiong frowned, falling into thought. “Something feels strange to me. At first, the mastermind didn't want to expose themselves, so the traces of their interference were extremely subtle. No one could find evidence, and that also allowed us to find ways out. But as He Yu came closer to uncovering their identity, the traces of interference became increasingly obvious. And now, they're practically acting without restraint...”

“What's strange about that?” Zhante asked in confusion.

While piloting the ship, Eugene quietly replied, “If the other side has reservations, they have to create instance rules that leave some path to survival. That gives He Yu a loophole he can exploit to advance. But now they've decided to wipe all of us out, meaning they no longer have those reservations. If they no longer care, why don't they just erase us outright?”

That was precisely what was strange!

Simply erasing them would be so much easier.

Why go through all this trouble?

It felt contradictory, as though the other side wanted to dispose of them swiftly and decisively, yet kept wavering...

Zhen Xing murmured, “Could directly erasing us... expose their identity to the outside world?”

That was entirely possible!

Then what kind of identity could it be, where directly erasing people would expose them?

Qiong grabbed her head in frustration. “Who the hell is the mastermind?!”

At that moment, He Yu suddenly raised his head.

He closed his notebook and licked his dry lips, his voice calm. “I have some bad news and some good news. Which do you want to hear first?”

Everyone: “...”

Duan Yuchen said, “The bad news first...”

He Yu nodded. “The bad news is that, judging by the current trend, the cruise ship can only hold out until six in the morning. Even if we use all our equipment to delay the damage, we can only extend that until seven. The breaches in the cruise ship are gradually widening. The breach in the warehouse in particular will continue expanding under the impact of the seawater, accelerating the sinking.”

Everyone's hearts sank.

As expected...

The cruise ship couldn't hold out.

It wouldn't survive until they left Gama Strait!

Zhante hurriedly asked, “What about the good news?”

He Yu twirled the pen between his fingers and smiled.

“The good news is that I have a way to change our situation, and perhaps even extend the amount of time we can remain in Gama Strait, giving us more time to solve the problem of the cycle.”

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