Qi Yan patted its head: "Good, your original master and I will be back soon, go home and wait for us." ”

After telling the little gray cat, Qi Yan held up his umbrella and walked into the rain.

On this rainy night affected by the typhoon, all the windows of the old apartment building were turned off, and Qi Yan walked up to the fifth floor of the apartment with a familiar way, and the door key of 501 was still in his hand as a prop.

With a "click" sound, Qi Yan used the key in his hand to open the door of room 501 nineteen years ago.

The 501 room in front of me is completely different from the one nineteen years later, the walls are not full of mirrors, but densely pasted with photos and posters of various corners, the twins of the Xu family at this fork in the timeline will not experience the tragedy of that world, they will grow up like all normal children.

However, there are two huge dressing mirrors in the room, which seem to be used by the two brothers who are studying drama to practice their expressions and manners.

Qi Zhen glanced at the time, and there were fifteen minutes left before midnight.

Qi Zhen asked 079: "Since this is used as the coordinate connecting the main system and each dungeon, if you call out from here, can you connect to the phone number of the players in the Dying City after nineteen years?" ”

079: "In this copy, I can give it a try." ”

After all, his premise in this dungeon is that of an all-powerful evil spirit.

"Who do you want to call against?" 079 asked.

Qi Jiu: "Boss Li of the Tavern in the City of Death. ”

079 didn't ask much, and tried to retrieve the number from Qi Yan's mobile phone address book, and then pressed the dial button.

"Beep-toot-" The call went through!

An unstable voice came from the other end of the phone: "Hey... Hello... Who are you? ”

It stands to reason that Li Beizheng has Qi Zheng's phone number record, and it will be displayed on the call.

Qi Zhen analyzed that it may have crossed the copy barrier and timeline, and his caller's mobile phone number was blocked.

Qi Jiu: "Boss Li, it's me." ”

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, and then Li Beizheng was obviously relieved: "Then I can report peace with Xiaobao, this kid is worried about it after he comes back from the copy." ”

Qi Jiu: "Thank you. ”

It seems that Qi Xiaonian has gone out safely, and Qi Yan's half-hung heart has finally landed.

Boss Li has never been a person who talks nonsense, and said straight to the point: "How much time do you have over there?" ”

"Fifteen minutes," Qi Zhen asked straight to the point, "I want to know the coordinates of the copy where you met the Prophet at that time." ”

While at the tavern, Li Beizheng mentioned that nineteen years ago he had met the prophet in a black trench coat in the dungeon.

Qi Zheng speculated that the coordinates of the copy where Li Beizheng was located at that time were probably the place where he was born.

Chapter 238: The Data Thief (End)

Li Beizheng did not procrastinate, and truthfully told Qi Zheng the coordinates of the copy recorded before.

Qi Zhen reconfirmed: "Is that copy related to some kind of research, such as androids, or similar to research made by humans?" ”

Li Beizheng on the other end of the phone gasped: "How do you know?" ”

Judging by the other party's reaction and answer, it can already be determined.

The coordinates provided by Li Beizheng are the places where 079's character data can be turned into human lifeforms, that is, where Qi Ji subconsciously sees the solution and the petri dish.

Based on 079's character data, Qi Ji was created in this copy.

This is the most critical link in the cycle: birth.

Qi Zhen can think of this, and another him, who has also experienced a closed loop of time on the timeline, can certainly think of it.

It is precisely this closed loop of time that allows him and Him to create the next cycle of "him".

Qi Jiu: "Boss Li, thank you for the information you provided me. ”

"You're welcome, I hope the information I provide can help you and help us," Li Beizheng paused, he looked at the rest of the time and hesitated, "I'm going to tell you something, maybe... It will help you in your future actions, and you will listen to it. ”

Qi Yan smelled the clue and hurriedly said, "No problem." ”

"I mentioned to you earlier in the bar that I had two teammates with whom I had a very good relationship, and one of them died in the dungeon, and the deceased teammate was the most powerful of the three of us, but he volunteered to take some punishment that could have been avoided... There was another friend who parted ways with him after that teammate died because of a different philosophy, and he ended up exchanging a large amount of Survival Coins and leaving the Rules Book. ”

"For the sake of storytelling, I'll refer to the deceased teammate as A, and the other teammate who left the "Rules Book" alive as B. I'm just saying that most likely... It has to do with the bugs that appear in the "Rules Book" now. ”

"It was A who first discovered that the "Rule Book" would produce some bugs in daily operation, but the system has the ability to heal itself, and can update and iterate on its own to fix these small bugs, A because of his interest, has been observing and collecting these types of bugs through his own methods and ways, I don't know how he operates, but in the end he developed a set of theories to intervene in system bugs, and made an experimental device in a copy."

A tries to use artificial bugs to intervene in the randomness of the system, such as trying to crack the secret of the "Rules Illustrated" to select travelers, so that randomness becomes controllable. According to his theory, under the influence of human bugs, the system will be more inclined to pull people with dungeon marked blood into the "Rules Book" to break through the level, because this is more in line with the "matching" that the system deems to be. ”

Qi Zhen: "Copy marks blood? What does that mean? ”

Li Beizheng explained: "It can be simply understood as the blood of those who have entered the "Rules Illustrated Book". ”

"My friend A was very young when he made this experimental setup, and then A came to realize the huge and unpredictable danger of intervening in the system bug fixing, so he regretted it... Because at that time he had a cherished person and a new life in the city, he didn't want the balance of the moment to be broken, he wanted to settle down in the city..."

"Just like an adult wants to make up for the mistakes he made when he was young, friend A, after hesitating, finally decided to re-enter the copy where the device was placed earlier, and for this reason, he also tried his best to try to make up for the mistakes he made back then, and then he succeeded and found the opportunity to re-enter the relevant copy."

"But for personal reasons, I didn't participate in that make-up operation, and B re-entered the dungeon with A, and to be honest, both of them have more experience and strength than me..."

"But... To the surprise of all of us... At that time, the players who entered the dungeon execution plan were almost wiped out... Including this most senior friend A. ”

"Only one person came back from the dungeon at that time: friend B. The situation was very tragic, and friend B only picked up half his life at that time, but thankfully, B informed us all that the bug interference device set up by A was successfully cleaned up, and although A paid the price for his life, the plan was successful. ”

Qi Yan keenly sensed that something was wrong: "The news that the jamming device was successfully cleared, is it B right for you?" You didn't see it with your own eyes. ”

His suspicions were legitimate, and the system's ability to heal itself had not been repaired.

It is precisely because the bug does not spread, and more and more travelers who are not randomly selected by the system are sent to the dungeon, that the system will be overloaded and gradually out of order.

"Yes, that's the problem, but we didn't notice anything was wrong back then, and even though we were three teammates, A and B were much closer than I was... There are many things that I can't get involved in. ”

"Maybe it was A's death that hit B hard, and then he kept entering the most dangerous dungeons as if he was looking for death, and it was precisely because of this that B earned a lot of survival coins in a short period of time, and left the "Rules Book" in less than three years."

Qi Jiu: "It was after B left the "Rules Illustrated Book" that the city gradually lost order, right? ”

Li Beizheng: "Yes, about three years after he left, there was a death row club, and the first copy collapsed for no reason. ”

Qi Zhen asked straight to the point: "You also suspect that the appearance of the Death Row Prisoners Association and the current situation of the "Rules Illustrated" due to bugs are related to this friend B who has left, right?" ”

Li Beizheng was silent for two seconds, and said cautiously: "I'm just telling what I know about the past and providing a way of thinking, hoping it can help your planning, but I don't want my thoughts to affect your judgment." ”

This is to give all the responsibility for judgment and choice to Qi Jiu himself.

Li Beizheng is such a person, generous enough, objective enough, and cautious enough.

"Mr. Qi, although I don't know what your arrangements will be next, my intuition tells me that only you can find out the root cause of the expansion of these bugs and completely stop the collapse of the "Rules Atlas". Li Beizheng said.

Qi Zhen wasn't sure if he was the only one who could clean up the mess, but he could be sure that without this cycle, he wouldn't have been born into this world, and 079 would have fallen asleep forever.

If the two of them can't meet each other, it will be a pity for everyone.

In order to avoid such regrets, Qi Ji is willing to be created, even though the past eighteen years of life have also been boring and not worth mentioning.

Qi Zheng asked Li Beizheng: "Can you tell me the coordinates of the copy of the bug jamming device experiment back then?" ”

"No problem," Li Beizheng told Qi Yan the coordinate information he knew, "but according to friend B, this copy had collapsed at that time, and the collapsed copy would disappear from the coordinate point, and there may be no way to enter." ”

Qi Jiu: "I understand, thank you." ”

"Mr. Qi, I have a question for you at the end."

Before hanging up the phone, Li Beizheng suddenly mentioned, "You can tell me, the person who called me just now is you... Or the legendary Grim Reaper? ”

From the blocked caller ID, Li Beizheng had predicted that Qi Zhen was not returning to Dying City at this moment, and that the call was coming from inside the copy or from a place farther away from them.

Who else can have this permission, except for the vanished "Grim Reaper"?

Qi Yan smiled calmly: "It's him, and it's me." ”

Li Beizheng on the other end of the phone was completely silent, without a sound, as if trying to understand the meaning of Qi Jiu's words.

"Thank you for telling me this tonight," Qi Yan glanced at the time, it was already 11:57, "Good night, Boss Li, see you later." ”

After hanging up the phone, Qi Yan put on a windbreaker sent by the little gray cat.

He had combed it before, and in the known information, this black trench coat had appeared at five points in time:

The first time, in the middle of the crossroads on his birthday night, a stranger in a black trench coat put a gun to Qi Jiu's back, and said in his ear, "Qi Jiu, try to live, I believe you can do it", and then fired a bullet without warning to pierce Qi Jiu's heart, which is the reason why he entered the "Rules Illustrated Book";

The second and third times, the "black trench coat" appeared in Qi Xiaonian's description, and Qi Xiaonian told Qi Ji that he had the impression that Qi Jiu had stood in front of his hospital bed in this black trench coat, it was a snowy night, and there was a smell of blood in the air.

Earlier, shortly before Qi Yan was adopted, a strange uncle in a black trench coat had visited the door, but Qi Xiaonian was not sure that his memory was correct;

For the fourth time, this set of "black trench coats" endowed with a certain symbolic meaning appeared in the window of a custom clothing store in the Lingering City, as if it was tailor-made for Qi Jiu, which could perfectly match Qi Jiu's body proportions;

The fifth time, in Li Beizheng's description, the prophet he met in his first copy was also wearing a black trench coat.

At this moment, Qi Yan was standing in front of the dressing mirror in front of room 501, and in the mirror, he was the person wearing a black windbreaker.

"Maybe you've noticed before that when you look at your own mirror, I'm staring at you through the mirror," 079 said, "The mirror... Or that the reflector can be the channel for me to shuttle, so then, when midnight comes, you need to make more reflectors to give me more access to the main system, usually the more channels there are, the higher the success rate. ”

"It's easy to do, but it may be a little noisy, but fortunately, Mrs. Xu and her family are asleep."

The moment Qi Yan's words fell, he neatly picked up an iron kettle on the table and smashed it towards the dressing mirror!

With two crisp sounds of "bang" in succession, the two dressing mirrors instantly cracked into countless fragments, and the fragments were scattered all over the ground, forming countless reflective surfaces.

Since the number of reflective surfaces that affect the success rate is only the size, it is natural that breaking the mirror is the most convenient and efficient way.

"Is that enough?" Qi Yan asked with a smile.

079 sighed lightly: "Very sufficient." ”

"Leave the rest to me."

Qi Yan was very interested and asked, "Do we need to deal with you nineteen years ago?" ”

079: "Don't worry, I've already witnessed the theft of my persona data once, and I know what to do." ”

After all, nineteen years ago, the future self had already "taught" him.

*

An hour later.

Nineteen years ago, 079 on this timeline didn't know anything, and was busy performing boring tasks in other dungeons.

In this copy, he plays the role of a young master of the manor, and once a traveler who comes to the manor as a guest violates the taboo, he, a young master who is nominally a noble young master, but is actually a human gardener repairer in the manor, will start working.