After quelling the internal rebellion, No. 8 issued an order to the military, instructing them to convey the order to the masses.

The order was clear: find the individuals.

Without the props and the website, the author and the ordinary people were no different. No. 8 didn't believe that those three individuals had the ability to escape the city-wide manhunt.

However, as if they had truly disappeared into thin air, there was no feedback.

Could it be that the mortar rounds had turned them to ashes?

No, that was impossible. If that were the case, the three authors would have reunited with Simpson by now.

No. 8 didn't want to miss this excellent opportunity to eliminate the authors.

"Stop looking, you won't find them," the Minister of Staff suddenly turned his head and said.

Moments ago, the Minister of Staff had stood respectfully on the side, waiting for orders. But now, it seemed like he had become a different person.

No. 8 knew that another being had descended upon the Minister of Staff.

"No. 4, have you also come down? Are you here to help me?" No. 8 asked.

"No, I just want to convey a few messages to you," No. 4 said calmly. "The Eternal Council has decided to eliminate all authors in the next iteration. They hope you won't move the pieces recklessly."

"What about this iteration? We almost had them. Please help me find and eliminate those three individuals. We can split the contribution points evenly, how about that?" No. 8 pleaded.

"I've already said it's impossible. They've hidden in a place that even you wouldn't be able to find," No. 4 replied.

"Where?" No. 13 couldn't help but ask.

No. 4 looked at the laboratory's microwave laser and said, "If you were the author, your personal information exposed, facing a city-wide manhunt, and the microwave laser is the only 'prop' in your hands, where would you hide?"

The answer was self-evident.

"... Are they insane? How can this be restored?" No. 8 asked.

"It's hard to imagine. The authors would rather become quantum ghosts than embrace Eternal Life," No. 4 explained. "They must have had complete confidence to do this. We still have too little information at present. Although the readers' comments are valuable, most of them are covered in garbled code."

"No. 4, from the tone of your words, I sense that our situation is not good," No. 8 said. "The eternal world is our territory."

"Even the smallest variables, when combined, can create a storm that no one can withstand. Be prepared to face the next iteration," No. 4 warned.

...

By chance, Bernice became a "sleeper agent" for the Eternal Life Church.

When Bernice initially encountered the large-scale brainwashing scene, she was taken aback and almost exposed herself. Fortunately, she reacted quickly and pretended to be a follower of the Eternal Life Church to escape unscathed.

As for Moulin, who was by her side, he still seemed lost and had not fully recovered from his depressive state.

Bernice worried that the Eternal Life Church would target Moulin, so she took the initiative to propose "preaching" to Moulin on behalf of the Eternal Life Church. The people from the Eternal Life Church agreed.

Although it was presumptuous to preach to a Christian nun, it was clear that the Eternal Life Church did not care. In their eyes, eternal life was above everything else.

All beings could achieve eternal life equally, but the Eternal Life Church also believed in a "Lord."

The "Lord" was the pioneer who guided them on the path to eternal life. Without the "Lord," eternal life would not exist.

Is "The Leader" the mastermind behind the establishment of the Eternal Life Church? Can eliminating "The Leader" unravel this bizarre event? Many speculations surged in Bernice's mind.

In addition to this, Bernice also learned something even more shocking.

The Eternal Life Church is aware of reincarnation, but they refer to it as "iteration". By believing in the Eternal Life Church, one can retain their memories in the next iteration. The process of believing in the Eternal Life Church is irreversible; once someone becomes a follower, they will forever be a follower of the Eternal Life Church in countless future iterations.

Bernice realized the seriousness of the problem. If the Eternal Life Church continues to spread unchecked, the entire world will eventually become followers of the Eternal Life Church.

Simpson has been murdered, another member of the author team lost. Bernice can no longer hesitate.

She once said in front of the nun that she would rescue everyone without leaving anyone behind. Now, it seems like a joke.

There is no perfect solution in the world, and the best solution can only minimize the damage.

While she cannot stop the spread of the Eternal Life Church, she can use it to transfer memories.

With this in mind, she looked towards Moulin.

Moulin was sleeping by the bedside, with the ordinary clothes they bought from a roadside vendor placed nearby. The nun's habit was quite conspicuous, and its religious connotation would leave a deep impression, so it was necessary to disguise appropriately.

Moulin trusts Bernice very much; she is defenseless against anyone. Perhaps it is because of this character that she is slowly being driven crazy by the bizarre event.

Perhaps her fate is to reach the end of her life in agony.

Is that the result Bernice wants to see?

Bernice gently covered the nun with a blanket and walked out of the room.

...

In the dark and narrow sewer, Owen and the unnamed person were in a corner, waiting silently for time to pass.

Outside, the police were searching for them. Owen is now trapped here with no chance to escape. Moreover, he just amputated his injured arm, and although the wound has stopped bleeding, he is unable to make any vigorous movements.

"Unnamed person, you're the real mastermind, right?" Owen suddenly said.

In this empty sewer, his voice sounded eerie.

Unnamed person: "..."

They did not speak.

"Playing the role of a person with amnesia is easier than playing the role of a teammate. All you need to do is pretend to know nothing, blend into the team, gain our trust, and then, when no one is paying attention, create a magnificent explosion! Isn't that right... Haha... Say something, argue with me!"

The unnamed person remained silent for a moment, then analyzed, "What exactly is amnesia? Since this is the case, let's examine amnesia with these questions in mind. This fact is significant to me and may have some significance to the world. What is the key issue? We have no choice but to face these questions. Once we grasp the key issue, everything else will be resolved. Now, it is crucial to solve the problem of amnesia."

It felt like the unnamed person said a lot but also said nothing at all.

What kind of nonsense generator is this?

Why did I choose such an unenthusiastic teammate?

Owen decided not to waste any more time with the enigmatic one and took out his bone to continue carving on it.

Before the world restarts, Owen wants to conduct a few small experiments to validate his ideas.

...

It's half past one in the afternoon on October 22nd.

In the previous two iterations, each cycle ended two hours earlier than the last, and it is expected to be the same this time.

There is no space on the rocket for the astronaut to reside, but Xu Fang can stay inside because the part where the satellite is fitted on the head is empty.

As long as there is enough energy, the survival of the energy life form will not be affected even in the cold vacuum.

But the mobile phone is too fragile, Xu Fang has to maintain a certain temperature for it to function properly.

While Xu Fang is contemplating the use of the synchronization device, he waits for the start of the cycle.

Suddenly, he receives a message from Ye Zhi.

Ye Zhi did not speak in the group chat, but privately messaged Xu Fang.

Ye Zhi: "Are you still in space?"

Xu Fang: "What's the matter?"

Ye Zhi: "Through observing the world, I have formulated a plan, but it can only be applied in the next iteration. I need you to wake me up once, and afterwards, I will act alone without needing your help anymore."

Xu Fang: "What is your plan?"

Ye Zhi: "I cannot say. I suspect our enemies have some way of monitoring our actions, so it's safest not to say it out loud. It's not that I distrust you, on the contrary, among these authors, you are the most trustworthy. Unless you are a mischievous god who enjoys watching the show, I can't find any motive for you to harm us. That's why I came to find you."

After speaking, Ye Zhi sends a 2kB TXT file.

Xu Fang opens it, inside are encrypted messages composed of English letters, Roman characters, special symbols, and numbers.

Ye Zhi: "Show me this in its entirety in the next iteration, and I will know what I need to do."

Xu Fang: "Besides this, is there anything else to explain?"

Ye Zhi: "It's best if I don't exist, I will act alone... In necessary moments, I may seek help."

After sending this message, Ye Zhi's profile picture turns gray, indicating that he has been disconnected from the account he used.

Xu Fang looks at the encrypted message left by Ye Zhi once again. He quickly determines that this is a language created by Ye Zhi alone. Due to the small amount of content, there is almost no possibility of deciphering it.

After copying the contents into his memory, Xu Fang looks up at the blue planet beside him.

Only five minutes left until the cycle starts.

Perhaps Luo Xiaoming also sent a message to Xu Fang, but he can only receive messages from the signal station here.

He checks the memories of this iteration and finds no issues.

Now, it's time to test whether the cycle's reset can be avoided.

2 p.m. on October 22nd.

Time has come.

The world changes.

The Earth becomes transparent, and with its transparency, fluorescent data and frameworks faintly emerge.

Soon, everything turns into data as they rapidly intertwine and pulse, enveloping the Earth.

The Earth becomes a semi-transparent ocean of data, while the rocket Xu Fang is on remains unaffected.

Sure, I will carefully check and translate the content for you. Just to confirm, you want me to translate everything below this line, right?

Sure enough, in space, one can avoid the cycle of reset.

Xu Fang fell into deep thought.

Why was the outside universe unaffected? Could it really be just a texture? Is this world virtual or another world with different rules?

Why did he suddenly arrive in this strange and bizarre world without any warning?

The distant sunlight shone through the transparent Earth.

The ocean of data lasted less than a minute, and the translucent Earth gradually turned into a solid entity. The data and the inexplicable framework vanished, and mountains, clouds, oceans, and more began to be modeled on the surface.

The latitude and longitude of the Earth changed. Before the reset, Xu Fang was still hovering over Oceania, but now it had become Africa below.

Or is it an illusion, but the Earth seems to have become slightly smaller...

Xu Fang looked towards the moon in the distance, its position unchanged.

Xu Fang tried to contact the Black Frame, but there was no response.

The fifth iteration had already begun.

Xu Fang took out the synchronized magic cube and bound it to a signal transmitter. The synchronized energy was then transported to the transmitter interface.

Using some of the rocket's fuel, Xu Fang created an empty shell duplicate and placed the synchronized magic cube inside its body.

In the past, creating a duplicate meant transplanting his memories into the new duplicate, allowing the new duplicate to develop its own consciousness. However, Xu Fang discovered that this approach came with risks and costs. The risk was that Xu Fang could not guarantee that the new personality would not betray him. The cost was that the new self-consciousness required half of his "lifespan" as fuel.

Xu Fang had already created three duplicates, dividing his lifespan into thirds. Even the longest-living race could not afford such waste, and Xu Fang was not certain how long his "lifespan" actually was. If it was the same as an ordinary person, then perhaps he wouldn't live beyond ten years.

Therefore, Xu Fang wanted to try a truly safe "avatar of the self".

Horror Novel Web had proven that duplicates could be controlled physically or mentally.

At that time, Xu Fang was curious about how it was done. Now, the synchronization device provided the answer.

Xu Fang's main body served as the output terminal, transmitting the information of the actions he wanted to perform, while the empty shell duplicate became a perfectly adapted receiving end. The role of the signal transmitter was to increase the distance Xu Fang could control the duplicate.

The connection created by the synchronization device was incredibly smooth, with almost no delay. The movements of the duplicate were as smooth as the main body's, and Gussy's unique talents, such as energy beams and energy shields, could still be used without weakening. This effect was the same as the "mental connection" on the back-end of the novel website, but even better, as the "mental connection" required the intermediary of the Horror Novel Web and couldn't be used in bizarre events. The synchronization device had no such concerns.

This type of duplicate did not consume lifespan and was simple and easy to control. The downside was that multiple simultaneous operations were not possible, as there was only one synchronized magic cube. Additionally, synchronization was a dynamic process that required the synchronized magic cube to work continuously. If anything unexpected happened to the main body or the synchronization stopped, the duplicate would also stop.

Perhaps only Xu Fang could be so well-adapted to the synchronization device, as normal receivers for synchronization cannot tolerate interference, otherwise the newly constructed topological structure would collapse. It would be impossible for someone like Yuri to directly impose mental control on others.

Xu Fang decided to stay on the rocket himself and let the duplicate go down. This way, he wouldn't have to launch the rocket again.

The rocket exceeded the escape velocity, and Xu Fang adjusted the engine to decrease the speed and altitude of the rocket.

After descending for dozens of kilometers, Xu Fang threw the duplicate in the opposite direction, while controlling the rocket to accelerate and the duplicate to deploy the shield.

Lack of oxygen and coldness would not be a problem for an energy-based life form. It is important to note that the shields must remain fully deployed during the descent to avoid being scattered by the violent airflow.

Even though Xu Fang had given himself an initial velocity in the opposite direction before "parachuting", he still continued to orbit around the equator several times due to inertia. Then he entered the atmosphere from the ionosphere.

As he entered the atmosphere, the friction with the air became increasingly intense. The surface temperature of Xu Fang's shield gradually soared. Under the influence of air resistance, the horizontal velocity decreased. Xu Fang compressed himself into a streamlined shape most suitable for landing. Although the vertical speed was far less than that of a meteorite, it was several times faster than that of a human in extreme sports, reaching nearly ten times the speed of sound. When he was about to enter the troposphere, Xu Fang expanded himself to increase the surface area and reduce the speed. Although it was not a problem to decelerate later, what if he accidentally collided with something? With such tremendous kinetic energy, the duplicate could be shattered directly, and Xu Fang didn't want to become a box on the ground.

Three hours later, Xu Fang successfully landed in a city in Indonesia, setting a world record for "parachuting".

The landing site was carefully chosen by Xu Fang. He couldn't land on the sea as he didn't have enough energy to fly over the ocean. There were only a few countries along the equator, and he naturally chose the ones with convenient transportation. Moreover, this place was relatively close to Four Eyes. He planned to wake up Four Eyes first. This time, he wanted to test whether the memories preserved in outer space would still be effective.