"Arrgh!" Gu Luoxin tore at his hair and scread in frustration. "Why are we back here again?! Does it an we have to redo everything from scratch?!"
"Leave alone..." Jin Jiuchi imdiately slumped back to his seat and closed his eyes, intending to beco one with the bus. His voice was filled with lethargy as he shooed his teammates away. "I don’t want to move anymore. Carry on without , you two. It’s okay, I know I will be missed."
Shen Nianzu massaged his throbbing temple, amused yet helpless by Jin Jiuchi’s reaction. He could sowhat understand the man. As soone who always sought excitent and thrill, this Cycle must be utterly tedious for him as they had to go through the sa thing again and again, and they didn’t even know when they would clash with their own selves again! Nonetheless, this was still not an excuse to be lazy, so he clapped his hands to draw their attention.
"I understand your feelings. Trust , I’m just as tired of this as you are. That’s why, we must boost our spirits so that we can tackle this Cycle and leave as soon as possible. Also, have you forgotten that all the troubles we went through to board the train were our own doing? We have no enemies from the start, and we can also handle the zombies without a hitch. We can directly make our way to the station without any unnecessary detours."
"Xiao Shen is right!" Gu Luoxin’s eyes lit up in realization. "This ti, we won’t have to kill each other anymore, so everything should be easier! Oh, wait a second..." a troubling thought suddenly crossed his mind, making him grow anxious. "This is our fourth tiline, which ans... our past selves from the first three tilines will also be here, won’t they?"
"Oooh!" Jin Jiuchi instantly sprang to life like a released rubber band, his silver eyes shimring in excitent. "We will have four Nian’ers in this tiline? That sounds aweso! Can we gather everyone and have a little snack together before catching the train?"
Shen Nianzu had the strong urge to laugh when he heard those words. He really had no idea what was going on in Jin Jiuchi’s mind. Why was he so obsessed with the idea of having four Shen Nianzus at once? Did it really matter whether there was one or four? Shaking his head, Shen Nianzu finally delivered the devastating news that shattered Jin Jiuchi’s little dog heart, "That’s impossible. Do you not rember what Xinxin said about how doppelgangers will die if they et each other?"
"T–That’s actually true?!" Gu Luoxin was taken aback.
"Why?!" Jin Jiuchi demanded, on the verge of tears. "What’s wrong with having two or three Nian’ers at the sa ti? Why can’t my wish co true?!"
Shen Nianzu checked the ti and noticed that it was almost the ti for their past selves from the third tiline to reach the outer wall of the park. Thus he urged, "Co on, let’s head to the station first. I will explain everything on the way, but rember, we must avoid being seen by our other selves."
One by one, they disembarked from the bus and Shen Nianzu threw a glance at the vehicle’s body, noting that the number had changed once again to ’4’.
They followed the sa path they had taken previously. Along the way, the vicinity was clear and the ground was littered with the motionless bodies of zombies, evidently left behind by the trio from the second tiline. As the sounds of battle grew nearer, Shen Nianzu gave a signal for them to stop and they took cover behind so bushes to continue their discussion.
"Let put it like this to avoid confusion," Shen Nianzu began. "From now on, we will call ourselves Team 4. Our past selves from the first and third tilines will be Team 1 and Team 3, respectively. We will not count Team 2 in because we spent the second tiline discussing our plans. Got it?"
Upon receiving nods of understanding from the other two, Shen Nianzu continued to analyze in a hushed tone, "What Xinxin said is right. We must avoid seeing each other because, whether it’s intentionally or not, one of us will surely disappear. Be patient," he shot a stern glare at Jin Jiuchi when he noticed the man opening his mouth, seemingly about to protest. "I’m getting to the main point."
"To put it simply, Team 2 can exist because everyone in Team 1 has been eliminated, and in the sa way, Team 3 exists because Team 2 t the sa fate. Right now, we are like four parallel lines running through the sa plane. But what happens if these lines suddenly intersect?"
"They will... beco one?" Gu Luoxin tilted his head, still puzzled.
"That’s one way to put it, but in fact it’s simply impossible for parallel lines to rge." Shen Nianzu elaborated patiently, "In theory, when we encounter one another, it causes a disturbance in the ti and space, hence creating a paradox. Let’s take Jin Jiuchi from Team 4 eting Jin Jiuchi from Team 3 as an example. This is a paradox. Why? Because Jin Jiuchi from Team 3 should have already perished for the one in Team 4 to exist. Alternatively, Jin Jiuchi from Team 4 shouldn’t have existed yet, as the one in Team 3 is still alive. We exist because our previous selves died. If we et, there are only two possible outcos: either we vanish, or our other selves vanish – no in between. Are we clear until here?"
He turned to find both his teammates staring back at him with a dazed look on their faces. It was clear that his words had only entered one ear and exited the other. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of helplessness. "Let’s move first. They have already reached the outer wall."
They snuck around like so kind of thieves, for they not only needed to hide from the zombies but also their own selves. Amid the strained silence, Jin Jiuchi suddenly spoke up, "So..."
"Sssh!" Shen Nianzu attempted to hush him, but it was too late. Nearby zombies had already detected the noise and began to approach them. He shot a glare at Jin Jiuchi, who was looking back at him with harmless and innocent eyes.
Gu Luoxin raised his head and saw the tragic scene of his past self dangling precariously from the end of the bandages, scared out of his wits, while Shen Nianzu was being princess carried like he was supposed to be. Suddenly, everything clicked into place in his mind,
"Wow, the movent of the zombies I observed last ti... I thought they were attracted to Team 1, but it’s actually because of us hiding nearby!" He couldn’t help but feel astonished at the revelation. And then, a peculiar idea crossed his mind, causing him to be stumped. "Wait a mont, if back then we were not even aware of Team 4’s existence, then is it possible that right now... there might be a Team 5 or Team 6 lurking around as well?!"
.
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A/N: have I confused you guys yet? *laugh* how many tilines do you think they will need to finish this one Cycle?
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