Chapter 479: Chapter 414: Speculation
The dizziness from passing through the space-time rift arrived as expected, but this time, the unusual feeling Jeming experienced was even clearer.
It wasn’t just a simple "familiarity."
When the team behind him asked questions, when he raised his hand to show Artarius’s orders, when the Sixth Level Wizard from the security forces flew over to question him...
Every moment, the scenes before his eyes seemed to perfectly overlay with some fuzzy silhouette in his mind.
He could even "anticipate" the tone of the next words from the other side, the subtle precursors of changes in the surrounding energy flow, and the exact moment the insect tide on the distant horizon was about to start wriggling.
This wasn’t déjà vu; it was memory.
When he saw the two thousand somewhat bewildered support wizards behind him, the thought struck like lightning through the fog.
The cycle had been running many times; this was another beginning.
And these repetitive, increasingly clear "déjà vu" experiences... were his former memories!
"Adaptive evolution of the Body Refining Technique..." Jeming immediately understood something in his heart.
Deep within his body, tempered through thousands of trials by the "Body Refining Technique," after resisting physical shocks, energy corrosion, mental interference, and even the slow-motion force field of time, some more subtle and profound "adaptability" was awakening.
It no longer merely protected the body; it began anchoring his existence, resisting the holistic reset of the "Jeming" individual by the reversal of time.
Although he couldn’t fully retain his memories yet, this growing "déjà vu" was evidence in itself.
His consciousness, his soul, were gradually gaining resistance to the law phenomenon of "time loops."
He quickly composed himself and, during the wait for Frost, sank his awareness into his Inner Grotto Heaven.
Four metal plaques stood silently: 1, 2, 3, 4.
The plaque for the number "5" has yet to be made, but behind the first four plaques, the number of record crystals had grown so large that they needed to be stored in separated areas.
Jeming quickly scanned the information recorded on the fourth plaque and the new stack of crystals behind it.
There lay the entirety of the observation data from the last major attack, as well as the overloaded monitoring instruments he had "rescued" at the last moment.
The information still existed.
Knowledge was still accumulating.
This was the cornerstone of the wizard’s resistance against the loop.
The meeting with Frost was efficient to the point of being procedural.
Jeming handed over the key data summary crystal of the fourth cycle, and after a quick review, Frost, without any hesitation, arrived at the same conclusion as the last cycle.
"Slow down the attack, maintain pressure, extend the research window." Frost’s speech was succinct and powerful, but his gaze fell on Jeming’s face with a deeper inquiry, "Your ’that space’ operates more stably than anticipated. Across three consecutive cycles, the data chain has not broken or become confused."
"The handiwork of the Grandmaster, naturally stable," Jeming replied without changing his expression.
"Good." Frost nodded, without probing further, and turned to start issuing detailed tactical adjustment instructions.
The new round of research, with the accumulation of massive data from the previous two cycles, especially the last major attack, finally began to break through scattered observations and move towards more systematic theoretical construction.
The prediction model for "time ripples" significantly improved in accuracy, and a preliminary framework was developed for analyzing the correlation between the Reaper Race’s social structure and loop endurance.
However, the calm research routine was disrupted on this day.
Frost personally came to the core laboratory where Jeming was and waved to set up a soundproof barrier.
"Advisor Jeming," his gaze was calm yet penetrating, "regarding the last cycle’s end, how are the observation instruments you used then?"
Jeming’s heart stirred slightly, and he replied truthfully, "The instruments themselves are basically intact. Although they were overclocked before time reversal, with some components slightly worn and energy circuits fatigued, after maintenance and recharging, they can be used again."
Frost nodded, continuing to ask, "So, what about the blank crystals that recorded the data? The basic materials used to manufacture these instruments and consumables—for example, the ’Void-Sensing Alloy’ for constructing energy scanning arrays, and the ’Inert Crystal Shell’ for encapsulating the pheromone capture core—are you aware of their sources?"
The questions became more specific and increasingly targeted.
Jeming faintly guessed the underlying intent but maintained his composure: "Most of the equipment was manufactured or modified using the strategic material reserves brought by our Wizard Expeditionary Army. A few special materials were synthesized from local resources collected in the occupied areas. Commander, is there an issue?"
Frost observed him for a few seconds before slowly saying, "When the logistics department organized the new round of material allocation, they discovered a small but unexplained gap in the inventory data. After tracing and comparing, the missing kinds and quantities of materials coincidentally matched the list of instruments and consumable materials you reported using and ’urgently recovered’ at the last moment in the previous cycle."
He paused, his tone betraying no emotions, "Originally, after time reversal, all consumed materials should regenerate. But those you collected within the ’recorder’ space... haven’t returned. They have ’disappeared’ from this cycle’s timeline."
As expected.
Jeming immediately understood.
His Inner Grotto Heaven existed independently of this plane’s time flow. The items collected within it were effectively cut from the current cycle’s "time."
When time reversed, resetting everything, the items within the Grotto Heaven were preserved due to their existence in an independent space-time.
