Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 583 - 581

"We’re already very close to the answer."

Li Ang looked around, stepping on the inscriptions scattered across the floor. He leisurely walked through the laboratory, stood between two consoles, then turned around to face Alice, who was standing at the doorway. "Which loop is this?"

"The five thousand five hundred and thirty-second."

Alice, resembling a doll, placed her hands before her black dress and softly replied, "Father, this is our five thousand five hundred and thirty-second time repeating this dialogue."

"..."

Li Ang said, "Can you retain all the memories?"

Alice nodded calmly. "I am a doll you forged. I do not hunger, nor thirst; as long as I have an energy source and maintenance tools, I can continue to exist indefinitely. Though I possess learning capabilities, I am not like a true human—I cannot achieve breakthroughs or create at will. The only way I can likely assist you, Father, is by utilizing the memory storage device to preserve all data from the loops."

"...You’ve worked hard."

"It’s nothing."

Alice shook her head. "Protecting this family is the reason for my existence. So, Father, are you going to start the experiment?"

"No need. Not anymore."

Li Ang relaxed his hands, allowing all the letters to flutter down to the floor.

He strode out of the laboratory, the transparent words in his floating vision perfectly clear.

[Phase Three Task Objective Completed]

[Player Restrictions Lifted]

[Phase Four Task Objective: Terminate the Loop]

Alice stepped aside, letting Li Ang pass. "What will you do?"

Li Ang countered, "What time is it now?"

Alice answered, "March 4th, 10:25 PM."

Li Ang walked out from behind the stone wall and asked, "Where was Siri at this time, two days before the regular timeline?"

"In her bedroom, just above Room E."

Alice, as if realizing something, followed behind Li Ang, adding, "I was with her at that time, comforting her that there were no monsters in the closet."

Li Ang unlocked Room E with a key, pushed the door open, and stood beneath the center of the ceiling. "How do you open this trapdoor in the ceiling?"

Alice hesitated for a moment. "Use the key to Room E, get close, and press."

Hmm... if it were the ’normal me,’ without any memory and unable to use Alchemy, I wouldn’t be able to open this door, would I?

Li Ang shook his head and casually scattered a few plant seeds.

The seeds burrowed into the floor tiles. Upon contact with the air, they grew instantly, forming a staircase beneath his feet that led straight to the ceiling.

He climbed the steps and pressed the key against the square metal plate in the center of the ceiling.

HUM—

The metal plate trembled and moved aside, revealing the Pitch Black Space with a slanted Metal Ladder extending downward.

Alice looked up at Li Ang. "What are you going to do?"

"End all of this."

Li Ang reached for the Metal Ladder and climbed into the darkness.

***

BANG.

The wardrobe door opened from the inside. The doll girl, who had been lying in bed reading a fairy tale to her younger sister under the orange light, immediately dropped the book and jumped up. Though still in her pajamas, countless intricate mechanical arms sprouted from her back, each armed with knives, daggers, and miniature gun barrels.

"It’s me."

Li Ang stepped out of the wardrobe and smiled at the terrified Siri on the bed and the vigilant Alice. "Sorry to have scared you."

He walked to the bed and, through his gloves, touched the soft hair of Siri, who huddled timidly under the covers with only her head peeking out.

"Long time no see."

He smiled at Siri. Countless microscopic plant fibers penetrated his gloves. Carrying an extremely small amount of paralytic toxin, they pierced the back of Siri’s neck, replacing her blood and curing her disease.

"Father..."

Alice, somewhat puzzled, retracted all her mechanical arms and stood on the bed like an ordinary girl. "How did you come out of the wardrobe wearing these clothes...?"

"Because this is Heilan Home, a man’s wardrobe. Isn’t it normal for it to hide a man?"

Li Ang spoke casually as he withdrew the plant fibers. He raised his hand and stood up as if nothing had happened. "Alright, that should do the trick."

He smiled at his two daughters, turned, and walked back into the wardrobe. After bidding them "Goodnight," he closed the large wardrobe door amidst his daughters’ puzzled gazes.

Following the secret passage, he slid down the ladder and returned to his room.

"I’ve cured Siri’s illness," Li Ang said calmly. "Is the button to end the loop at the end of the corridor? Let’s go put an end to all this."

Alice was silent for a moment. "How did you know...?"

"Because the answer is written in your heart."

Li Ang smiled, deactivated the "Mystery Delver" Special Effect, and exited Room E, arriving at the end of the corridor with Alice.

Behind where Alice had been standing, there was a red button hidden under a clear plastic cover.

Li Ang opened the plastic cover, leaned against the wall, and looked at Alice. "What will happen to this world after pushing the button? Will an extra pair of us appear on the surface, or will it leave empty spaces for us?"

"I don’t know."

Alice shook her head. "But no matter what decision you make, Father, I will stand with you."

"Is that so..."

Li Ang nodded. "Then, let’s begin."

He threw a punch, smashing the button hard.

***

The warehouse door behind the suburban villa burst open. A middle-aged man with blond hair, dressed in rubber clothing and reeking of a scorching odor, and a girl in a black dress and an eye patch, stumbled out of the warehouse, supporting each other.

It was high noon. The intense sunlight shone on the man’s gaunt face, making it nearly impossible for his already weakened eyes to open.

"Father, please hold on," his daughter said softly.

But as if he hadn’t heard her, his feet gave way. He leaned against the wall of the building next to the warehouse, his eyes unfocused, muttering under his breath, "Time... the current time..."

"Morgan! Alice! You two! Where on earth have you been?!" an angry woman’s voice rang out from up ahead. The Alchemist’s wife ran over quickly, complaining non-stop, "I haven’t been able to find you since last night! Do you know how worried Siri and I have been? I almost called Scotland Yard to have them help find you..."

The moment the woman drew close enough to see her husband’s wretched state, her eyes widened. She closed her mouth and, without a second thought, crouched down. Cupping her husband’s face in her hands, she used Alchemy to soothe his cracked lips.

She looked up, her anxious gaze shifting between her husband and her elder daughter. "What happened to you two...?"

"We just took a bit of a lengthy trip."

The Alchemist named Morgan coughed twice and asked with difficulty, "Where’s Siri?"

"She’s upstairs." The Alchemist’s wife paused. "Her illness... seems to have gotten much better. Did you do something? Hey, why are you laughing?"

"It’s nothing..."

Morgan wiped away his tears, looked up at the eaves against the blue sky, and held his wife’s and daughter’s hands tightly. "It’s nothing..."