The Creatures That We Are-Chapter 1096: Flake Out

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

The animated comic strip above the bonfire scattered in the night wind. Everyone had been so immersed that they took some time to recover.

Baili Yi stared up at the starry sky. “The next day, everyone died in the Battle of the Curtain Call. I survived and comprehended Painter. At that moment, I saw my path.”

It was then the others finally understood the deep, ever-present gloom in Baili Yi's eyes—it was left by the blood his companions had shed.

“I...have a question.” Liao Liao raised her hand. “Earlier, the comic mentioned ‘calculation’. Is it about your Talent, Flake Out?”

Baili Yi nodded. “It is.”

“That connects everything,” Gao Yang said with bright eyes.

“Painter, Flake Out.” War Tiger stroked his stubbled chin. “Ha, so that’s what this is.”

Vermilion Bird had more or less caught on as well. “That’s a grand chess game.”

“Wait,” Zhang Wei blinked in confusion, “I haven’t missed anything, have I? Why are you all suddenly having a eureka moment? Is this a prank or something?”

“It’s time to tell you about my Talent.” Baili Yi turned to Zhang Wei. “There’s Painter, which you’ve seen in action. It allows me to hide in a two-dimensional space. While time still passes, I don’t change or age. And Level 8 Painter—”

“Excuse me, sir.” Liao Liao raised her hand once more. “I’ve been wondering about this for a while. I just have to ask it.”

Baili Yi chuckled. “You want to ask how my Talents are level 8 when I don’t have the Rune Circuits.”

“Oh, right.” Dr. Jia realized too. “I was going to ask the same, but too many things came up that I forgot.”

Baili Yi explained, “In my round, a Talent did need the corresponding Rune Circuit to reach level 8, but once it did, the awakener no longer required the Rune Circuit. Even if someone with the same Talent got their hands on the Rune Circuit, they couldn’t reach level 8 unless they killed me first. The limitations became even more stringent in your round.”

Zhang Wei sighed. “Seems that the Heavenly Way’s really losing it.”

Baili Yi continued, “Level 8 Painter turns me infinitely close to a two-dimensional being, allowing me to attach myself to anything. Before the world rebooted, I did just that.”

“The Rune Circuits,” Gao Yang said.

Baili Yi nodded. “Outside of the Heavenly Way and the Mist, the only things that go from one round to the next are the twelve Rune Circuits. I attached myself to the Time-Space Rune Circuit and trespassed into this round.”

“So,” Vermilion Bird said, “You’ve always had the Time-Space Rune Circuit?”

Baili Yi shook his head. “The twelve Rune Circuits scattered randomly after entering a new round, leading to different causes and effects. While I’d brute-forced my way through the reboot, that was my limit. I woke up a three-dimensional being with the Rune Circuit gone.”

Liao Liao’s eyes lit up. “Ah, so the top and bottom twelve Talents are each two interpretations of the same ability.”

“Eidos exerts psychic control over others, while Confidence gives self-suggestion. Absolute Defense blocks all damage, while Unreachable avoids all dangers. Time-Space Spirit allows time travel by fully mastering time, while Painter turns one into a trespasser and enables time travel in one direction by mastering space.”

Baili Yi looked at her with approval. “As expected of the owner of Aptitude.”

“Huh?” Liao Liao was flattered. “Didn’t expect a nobody like me to be on your radar.”

Baili Yi chuckled. “I’ve been paying attention to all of you. Liao Liao, you’re one of my primary focuses.”

“Primary focus?” Liao Liao’s mouth fell open. What had she done to deserve that?

“Outside of the top priorities—Gao Yang, Qilin, and Dragon—you’re an important player,” Baili Yi said.

“How about me?” War Tiger asked.

Baili Yi was about to answer when Vermilion Bird interjected, “What’s the criteria for those you pay special attention to?”

“Huh?” War Tiger said impatiently, “Tell me if I’m one of those first!”

Baili Yi addressed Vermilion Bird, “The ripples in causality.”

That led to another wave of chatters.

Baili Yi conjured his energy chalk, going into lecture mode again.

“Everyone follows their own causality, which has varying impact on the causality of those around them. A pebble always creates ripples after being tossed into a lake. That’s the ripples of causality.”

“Isn’t that our individual fate?” Old Seven said.

“Using movies as an analogy, it’ll mean how much screen time a character has!” Zhang Wei contributed. He turned to Nainai with a snicker. “Aren’t you an empress, Nainai? It seems that you don’t get much screen time!”

“How, how dare you!” Nainai immediately lost her poker face and flushed red. “Mortals like you cannot understand the fate of this Empress!”

“Oof, that hit a nerve!” Zhang Wei teased.

Nainai fumed. “You...you...”

“Zhang Wei.” Qing Ling eyed him icily. “Stop digressing.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Zhang Wei shut up. He wasn’t afraid of Qing Ling, no. He was simply showing respect to Sister-in-law.

Since no one had any other question, Baili Yi continued with his explanation: “Unlike Prophet, Flake Out cannot predict the future, but it can calculate and deduce it.”

“Is there...much of a difference?” asked Quiet Book. Wang Weiyan had fallen asleep on her lap.

“A substantial one,” Baili Yi responded. “Were future a math problem, Prophet skips the calculation and comes up with an answer with almost absolute accuracy. Flake Out doesn’t do that. It continues to calculate and deduce to reach the many possibilities of the future, constantly adjusting the parameters and the formulas, attempting to nudge the future to the desired possibility.”

The others fell silent.

“It’s a little abstract. I’ll give you an example.” Baili Yi quickly waved his chalk, and a chessboard appeared above them.

“The ultimate ability of level 8 Flake Out is Chessboard of Causality,” he said. “I created one out of the hundred years of your round and include as many of the awakeners, elite monsters, Spectres, and other beings who create a certain level of ripples based on what I knew.”

“You may find it offensive, but you’re all chess pieces on my board. The pieces get taken off and put in constantly, and even pieces off the board may continue to create powerful ripples. The chess game is ever evolving with a complicated trajectory.”

“With the board set up, the game needs to be played. The ultimate goal is checkmate, which is set up to be a way out for humanity. That is the goal I’m playing the game to.”

Baili Yi waved his hand, and the chess pieces moved in intricate patterns, carrying out a game. Then with another wave, the board reverted to its starting point.

“In the process, retracting a move is imperative.”