Global Collapse-Chapter 688 - 653: The Wise Seventh World_1

"That's an illusion, right?" the Fortune-teller tightly clenched her hand. "It's an illusion created by this world..."

"No," Chu Changge said, looking up at the dim sky. "I had heard that Twilight Gods World was on the brink of collapse. I never thought this world would prevent its own apocalypse in such a way."

"What are you talking about?" The Fortune-teller looked at Chu Changge, not quite understanding.

Just then, Xiao Qiao suddenly spoke, "Our world has reached its end. All life will usher in the twilight, and all history will turn to dust..."

Chu Changge was very familiar with this passage. Xiao Qiao had once relayed it to them while munching on grilled meat. This passage certainly wasn't something Xiao Qiao came up with herself; with her intellect, she couldn't have. It must have been something she heard from someone in this world before. Xiao Qiao always had a habit of repeating others' words, especially those that sounded profound and mysterious.

This passage also implied that Twilight Gods World was on the verge of destruction. When Xiao Qiao left here for Earth, this world was already nearing its "end."

But it had somehow held on for so long without collapsing. Chu Changge already knew why this world had managed to endure.

"The loop," he said, looking at the dim, chaotic sky. "This world has prevented its own destruction through this loop."

It's like a person who knows he will die tomorrow. So, he forcibly initiates a loop, keeping himself forever stuck in 'today.' Whenever time reaches 23:59, it forcibly jumps back to the beginning of 'today.'

This world, knowing it was on the brink of destruction, forcibly initiated a time loop.

That was also why... they saw their own dead selves here.

The Fortune-teller seemed to understand something as well, her eyes widening. "So, what we're seeing are 'ourselves' from the previous loop, who died?"

Their entry into this world coincided with a loop.

"We enter this world, then we all die. Then time jumps back to before we entered this world, and then a new 'us' enters... it keeps repeating in this loop, right?" 007 thought of some horror movies; he hadn't expected to have such an odd experience himself today.

"Yes." Chu Changge lowered his head. "The previous versions of 'us' who entered this world had all died."

Chu Changge's words plunged the Fortune-teller into fear. "So, the current 'us' are also repeating this loop of death? We will eventually die, while a new 'us' will come to this world after we die... No, what if someone is still alive? What if someone survived in the previous loop? Wouldn't they encounter the current 'us'?"

"Xiao Qiao once mentioned an alarm sounding at regular intervals in this world. I believe that wasn't an alarm, but rather the sound of the world starting to collapse," Chu Changge said, looking at the Fortune-teller. "After that sound, the Evil Ghosts go insane, the world starts to collapse, and we can't possibly survive that situation."

"Also, if I really managed to survive into the next loop, what do you think I would be most likely to do?"

Hearing Chu Changge's question, 007 backed away slightly. "If you truly managed to survive until then, I think you would probably wait for an opportunity to kill the next loop's Chu Changge and take his place."

"That's right," Chu Changge adjusted his glasses. "I would use any means necessary to replace the other 'me,' because I want to survive."

"So," 007 recalled the twisted face that had peeked out from the dense forest, "the ghost in the forest... was it you?"

Chu Changge nodded. "I think the 'us' from each loop all discovered the world's loop, and they are all trying their best to survive.

"That 'me' was probably taking a massive risk to return to our 'birthplace' after discovering the loop, attempting to kill the next 'me' there and take his place."

But he died in the end anyway, becoming a wandering ghost in this looping world.

"You really want to survive, huh," 007 mused, picturing the Chu Changge who had almost become a monster.

He could imagine the risks that Chu Changge had taken to return to their 'birthplace.' Perhaps by then, everyone else had already died, leaving only him. He had dodged the rampant Evil Ghosts and returned to that forest, hoping to survive. But he ultimately died there, his hopes dying with him in this world.

Thinking about the message she'd heard from her own voice on the radio, the Fortune-teller leaned against the nearby wall. "So, that was a message from the 'me' who died in this world..."

She raised her head to look at Chu Changge. "Can 'we' break this loop this time?"

Gu Mian is also in this world, she thought. He's such a special person; surely he can lead us to break this loop.

"No," Chu Changge said, seeing through the Fortune-teller's thoughts, his eyes downcast. "I don't know, because we don't know if Gu Mian was also involved in the previous loops. If Gu Mian had also come to this world in those previous loops, that would be true despair. Because in those loops, Gu Mian couldn't prevent our deaths, and even witnessed them firsthand."

007 looked into the distance. "The versions of 'us' who died must have also made countless efforts. You can tell from the fingers scattered everywhere. Chu Changge, were those your fingers?"

Chu Changge silently nodded. "This world continues to loop, and each time 'we' enter this world, 'we've' made different choices.

"The 'us' who struggled to survive, upon realizing they no longer had a chance to live, decided to pass their hopes onto the next loop's version of 'us.'

"As their lives approached their end, they desperately explored this world, hoping to leave a chance of survival for their future 'selves.'

"You've also discovered that this world corrodes many things. When we turned into ghosts, the clothes on our bodies were corroded beyond recognition. Even special items couldn't escape being corroded.

"The world loops. Even if 'we' left our marks somewhere, those marks would disappear after the world loops again.

"The only thing not corroded by the world is 'ourselves.'"

Chu Changge looked at the finger in 007's hand.

"And so, 'I' used a part of my own body, trying my best to pass information to the next loop's version of 'myself.'

"'I' severed my fingers, exploring this world until my life ended, leaving warnings in dangerous places for the next loop's 'us'—telling them not to come, telling them it was dangerous here."

The "warnings," of course, were Chu Changge's fingers.

"I think 'you' were also passing information to the next loop's 'you' in your own ways, but most of that information was corroded.

"In some loops, 'we' might have found a way to pass information to Gu Mian's radio. So, 'we' left messages there, possibly even leaving some clues about this world.

"But the radio's signal is very erratic, so only 'our' last words came through."

Chu Changge turned his head slightly. "The severed fingers and the messages in the radio are signals that previous versions of 'us' passed to future ones. They had hit a dead end, in desperate situations, but they still passed on hope to those who would follow.

"They desperately explored this world, just to give future versions of 'themselves' a slightly better chance to live.

"They died in this world filled with despair, yet hoping that future versions of 'themselves' could survive. They probably also feared that their deaths would sadden those outside, so they tried their best to leave warnings in this world.

"'Let the future 'me' achieve what I could not.' They died holding onto such thoughts."

The Fortune-teller's vision blurred, as if tears were welling up.

"These signals, passed down, are pleas from the previous 'us' to the present 'us.' They are pleading for 'us'..."

Chu Changge paused, then looked up at the others. "To survive."