Chapter 482: Chapter 416: Paradox
For the sixth time, he traversed the space-time rift.
But this time felt completely different.
The usual dizziness was absent, and the déjà vu from the previous loop intensified. It was no longer just a familiar "déjà vu" but rather a more concrete, fragmentary echo of memories.
As Jeming steadied himself, several clear scenes automatically emerged in his mind: rapidly collecting crystals on the observation platform; Frost descending with the Eighth Level Reaper Race’s corpse; and just before the final time reversal, swiftly storing various tools in his Inner Grotto Heaven...
These memories were incomplete, fragmented, unable to form a coherent narrative.
In the face of the massive record crystals, these fragmented memories seemed useless.
Yet their very existence held significance far beyond their content.
This indicated that his Body Refining Technique’s "Adaptive Evolution" against time resets was progressing from vague "déjà vu" towards more solid "memory anchors."
"Captain?" a team member inquired from behind.
"It’s nothing," Jeming replied with unusual calmness, glancing at the two thousand wizards behind him, then looking towards the wary friendly guard units ahead and the approaching Frost.
He knew what was happening.
This was the greatest use of these memories, allowing Jeming not to guess, but to "know."
"Know" that this was the sixth loop.
The process was quite familiar by now.
Show Artarius’s order to get passage clearance.
Before Frost could speak, Jeming took the initiative to step forward and handed over a package prepared in advance, containing the vital research findings from the previous loop and a summary of the current battlefield data.
"Sir Frost, here’s the research progress and tactical analysis summary from the last loop. This includes the combat data of the new biochemical beasts and...the preliminary findings about the ’paradox experiment,’" he stated calmly.
Frost gave him a deep look, asked no further questions, and quickly read the crystal.
A moment later, orders were given, and the Wizard Legion deployed with maximum efficiency, countering the anticipated Reaper Race ambush force.
The landing battle, with complete intelligence superiority, ended in a decisive wizard victory within half an hour, faster than any previous attempt.
Not until the battlefield was initially cleared did Jeming regain full attention to himself.
He first checked his Inner Grotto Heaven.
The towering piles of record crystals neatly categorized, were intact.
The monitoring instruments brought from the previous loop, various Level samples of the Reaper Race, and most importantly—the intact Eighth Level corpse and two fragments of the Glory Armor, lay quietly within a designated area without any abnormal changes.
But this wasn’t his main focus.
With Frost’s permission, Jeming, along with Alison and other core research wizards, swiftly moved into the central logistics dispatch warehouse and database of the legion.
Their goal was clear: verify the inventory list and find traces left by the "paradox."
The inventory task was swiftly accomplished with the highly automated Rune Array’s assistance.
When the final report appeared before them, a restrained, excited murmur echoed through the laboratory.
"Confirmed!" Alison pointed at the red-marked data columns on the holographic projection, "Basic elemental materials, high-purity energy crystals, specific models of the rune base plate... A total of seventeen major categories of supplies show a gap unexplainable by conventional consumption. The total gap..."
She pulled up another list, detailing the materials Jeming used in the previous loop to manufacture the batch of "new" monitoring instruments.
"... is twice the total amount of materials listed here, with a margin of error within five-tenths of a percent." Another wizard responsible for data comparison spoke with a trembling voice.
Everyone understood what this meant.
Jeming had brought back a set of "new" instruments from the previous loop, which were currently in the camp.
Yet the warehouse gap corresponded to the materials for two sets of instruments.
The only explanation is: the set manufactured in the fourth loop and used throughout the fifth loop, due to being "foreign objects," did not survive the time reversal ending the fifth loop and starting the sixth loop.
Like those Black Giants, they were erased in the conflict of space-time continuity.
"Indeed, this result fits the expectation." Jeming quietly concluded, feeling little ripple in his heart.
This result validated their hypothesis about the "external object paradox stability" and explained part of the reason why the Black Giants vanished earlier.
Next, the main event.
Jeming distributed the foundational environmental data recorded from the previous loop—including the elemental concentration across spaces, energy tide baseline values, and the inherent fluctuation frequency of the plane’s Law, known as "constants"—to each research group.
The wizards, using the repaired "new" instruments (namely, the batch brought back from the last loop), began synchronous measurements of the current loop’s plane environment, intending to establish a new baseline and compare it with the recorded data.
Initially, everything went smoothly.
The instruments operated steadily, and data cascaded down the light screen like a waterfall.
The wizards processed their respective modules, verifying, calibrating, and calculating.
However, only half a day passed when a young wizard, specializing in elemental energy spectrum analysis, ceased using his rune pen with a furrowed brow.
He repeatedly compared the real-time monitoring data stream with the "previous loop baseline data" provided by Jeming, his expression increasingly puzzled.
"Advisor Jeming," he raised his head, his voice uncertain, "Could you confirm once more that the ’elemental abundance baseline spectrum’ you provided is the measurement value from the stable phase before the final offensive in the last loop, unprocessed or filtered afterward?"
"Yes, it’s raw data, directly from the Record Crystal." Jeming affirmed, "Why?"
"This is strange..." The young wizard pointed at two sets of curves before him, "Look, real-time monitoring shows the average concentration of seven stable inert elements in the current plane atmosphere is lower by about 0.3% compared to the baseline data you provided. The margin of error far exceeds instrument precision and natural fluctuation limits."
0.3%.
This number was like a stone cast into a tranquil lake, stirring intense ripples in Jeming’s heart.
Soon, more anomalies were reported.
"Report! The average intensity of background void energy fluctuations dropped by about 0.28%!"
"Space stabilization coefficient slightly declined, trend consistent with the reduction in element concentration!"
"The baseline threshold of life field activity shows a faint upward shift..."
One by one, small percentage deviations accumulated. They all shared the same direction, similar magnitude, affecting the most fundamental and stable ’constants’ of the plane!
As Jeming observed these data discrepancies, his eyes slightly narrowed, and his earlier hypothesis gradually became clear in his mind.
