NY Time, October 21st, 7:00 PM.
According to calculations, there are four hours left before entering the sixth loop.
Excitement brewed within the disaster strategy group as authors exchanged information about this loop.
Good news: all remaining authors are safe. Bad news: Ji Shuyu's development of "Restoration Magic" has failed.
Despite Ji Shuyu's initial confidence in developing magic to turn monsters back into humans, she bit off more than she could chew. Time was too short, and the code was far more complex than anticipated. Ji Shuyu felt embarrassed for boasting about it but failing to deliver.
In the end, she reluctantly applied the missing persons' spell template to develop the "Monster Recognition System V1.0 - 100-meter Edition," which somewhat proved useful.
The higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment. With no magic solution in sight, the authors' morale was somewhat low.
Time was running out.
No one had proposed a viable solution to unravel this bizarre event yet.
Ji Shuyu: "If I hadn't seen that website, I'd sometimes wonder whether this is a strange world or another absurd reality altogether..."
Empty: "As a humble observer of the heavens, after careful calculation, there is no origin to this path, the heavens and earth are askew, all things are not in harmony, clearly not reality."
Ji Shuyu: "...Sigh, I'm getting PTSD from the word 'eternal life'."
Lao Mo: "Currently, we have no way to directly confront the Eternal Life Church. Their beliefs are too bizarre, and the limited intelligence is insufficient to launch an attack against them."
Yoriko: "Well, that doesn't matter. I will intervene."
Lao Mo: "What are your thoughts, Yoriko?"
Yoriko: "I am a deity from ancient Greece in charge of the celestial bodies. All I need to do is convert the followers of the Eternal Life Church into mine."
All authors: ... (awkward silence)
Ji Shuyu: "Anyway, let's start utilizing the 'Monster Recognition System' for now."
Lao Mo: "OK, I'll familiarize myself with the operation."
Yoriko: "Why is nobody responding to me?"
Lao Mo: "Thank you. Also, can we increase the detection range? 100 meters are a bit inadequate."
Ji Shuyu: "I'm working on it. If there are any developments, I'll update the group, over and out."
...
Yeh Zhi continued to observe this world.
Undoubtedly, this bizarre event led both to life and death, all roads pointing to the Eternal Life Church.
The Eternal Life Church controlled this world, and as the cycle repeated, their control grew stronger, reducing the authors' survival space.
In the fourth loop, the Eternal Life Church could only influence some insignificant outsiders to attack the authors. By the fifth loop, Israel's entire army became followers of the Eternal Life Church. Could it be that in the next, sixth loop, the armies of various countries would actively besiege the authors?
They had to find a way to suppress or eliminate the Eternal Life Church.
Fortunately, due to the rules, a turning point emerged.
Initially, Yeh Zhi was skeptical of the rules, wanting to keep a distance. However, it witnessed the rules uniting a group of unpredictable authors, who had never once engaged in meaningless internal conflicts.
In the Night Paper's impression, authors on Horror Novel Web, especially high-level authors, are all cunning, selfish individuals. They sell out their teammates without hesitation at critical moments, embodying all the "evil" of humanity.
The authors of this bizarre event, though a few are odd, maintain an average moral standard, barely passing the line.
Whether it's the leadership of the rules or the quality of the authors that prevails is still unknown.
In any case, with the efforts of the authors, there is a slight possibility of cracking this hell difficulty bizarre event.
How to crack the bizarre event? There is already a vague plan in place.
For now, Night Paper has saved a memory file for itself.
It manipulated the body of the middle-aged senator, drew the curtains, blocking out the outside light. Then, turning towards the rules who were lying like a puppet by the coffee table, it quietly said, "Rules, from my observations, there are three limitations in this world."
Xu Fang looked up at it, "…please continue."
"First, there are limitations in the characters of the Eternal Life World. They live life predictably, not like normal beings, more like advanced AIs. Also, the population density in this world is abnormal… too scarce."
"What about the second one?"
"Secondly, there are structural limitations in the Eternal Life World. You've been to several places, maybe you've already noticed that the terrain here, although following the same template as the real world, is simplified. Many mountains are smaller, iconic buildings are missing, and with each cycle, the level of simplification seems to increase... there isn't even a decent basement here."
Xu Fang nodded.
"Thirdly, there are cognitive limitations in the Eternal Life World. Owen from the previous round indirectly proved this. Humans in this world live in illusions, thinking this world is incredibly real, not acknowledging that they will truly disappear after death. Each individual seems mechanical, restricting them to think only within a certain range. Having lived in human society for decades, I know humans are very complex, to the point where I dare not easily engage with them, unable to predict their changing stances and thoughts… so, I can safely say, the humans in this world are fundamentally not human."
"What is your plan?"
"Very simple, use humans to eradicate the Eternal Life Church. The three limitations above provide feasibility for my plan."
"Is this really the best solution?"
"This is based on experience—I have encountered enemies similar to the Eternal Life Church in other bizarre events. Simply put, that world contains a mental virus that can self-replicate, issue mental commands, gradually infect all advanced life forms, eventually dominating a civilization. Brainwashing and memory erasure are futile, all infected individuals are marked, controlled as slaves of groupthink. The only method is to kill all infected individuals… all of them, leaving none."
Listening to Night Paper's account, Xu Fang asked, "You mentioned a mental virus. Does it have a host?"
"No, even if it did, it disappears with the deaths of the mental slaves."
"Your idea is—Eternal Life Church and this cycle system were both built by the 'believers of the Eternal Life Church,' as long as we eliminate all 'believers of the Eternal Life Church' at once, we can completely eradicate the Eternal Life Church?"
"Yes, how do you feel?"
"It seems worth a try."
"Then let's continue the discussion. Now that we have identified the enemy and the target, we need to seek the help of human forces... uniting against the Eternal Life Church. I need your help, along with all the authors."
-------------------------------------
【It's almost over, time flies.】
Number 4 pushed open the door and entered the room where Xu Fang's duplicate was being held.
Returning from standby mode, Xu Fang slowly raised his head, and his scattered gaze regained focus.
Number 4 had switched bodies again.
As a high-ranking member of the Eternal Life Church, Number 4 could replace any Eternalist.
【As you all get caught one by one, the answer is obvious. Your thinking is narrow-minded, believing that eternal life is a form of torture. Why not consider that the majority pursue eternal life?】
"The truth is always held by a few."
Number 4 smiled without comment, 【You are an intelligent author, I sincerely hope you can join us and contribute to eternal life.】
"My thoughts will not change."
Number 4 glanced at the time on his watch, shaking his head regretfully.
【In that case, during the next iteration, the Eternal Life Church will no longer show you any respect.】
...
Xu Fang, far away in space, opened his eyes.
The final second passed.
The authors had accurately calculated the time of the cycle, indeed, it was two hours earlier than the last time.
As Earth was digitized and restarted, the infinite starry sky of the universe suddenly disappeared. This time, after the digitized restart, Earth finally showed significant changes, collapsing in on itself, reducing the distance and area of the land substantially but keeping the rotational and orbital speeds unchanged.
With each "iteration," Xu Fang felt farther and farther away from reality.
The sixth cycle began.
The shadow of the Eternal Life Church loomed over everyone.
The authors only managed to prepare backups and a basic recognition system.
In the darkness, the night paper, now recalling memories, put down the phone.
After checking the time, he opened the camera and observed his face - still that of the middle-aged senator. Asleep next to him was a young blonde woman, the senator's wife. The night paper left the bedroom and quickly walked to the room of the "son." Peeking through the crack in the door, he saw the "son" sleeping soundly.
The night paper sighed deeply. After changing his identity, the mysterious world automatically filled the void.
【The Senate? What is the Senate?】
In the lower world, Number 4 muttered to himself in his position.
【It's better to deal with that contaminated author sooner, all the crucial information has been blocked!】
【It doesn't matter, there is no need to delve too deeply into readers' comments. We will forge our own path - the Israel Air Force is already under control, dispatch fighters to patrol these areas, and if the author's trace is found, proceed with missile strikes directly.】
Number 3 calmly ordered, 【The intelligence network is crucial, the American intelligence department must ensure complete penetration, sifting through suspicious information on the web through big data filtering, especially in more clandestine chat groups. As for the transportation system, monitor airports and train stations, enhance supervision, and watch for any individuals with suspicious identities or behavior. The rest is to continue awakening the believers, starting from the upper echelons of the American political system.】
【Number 3 is so fierce, those authors probably can't hold on.】 Number 13 let out an unpleasant laugh, 【Can I book a few pilots for hunting?】 【It doesn't matter, you pay the contribution points yourself.】 【Then I'll leave.】 Number 13 disappeared in front of everyone. The managers closed their eyes in silence, as time quietly passed. After who knew how long, someone suddenly spoke up. 【A believer who just connected from the U.S. Congress has died.】 【Has the author made a move?】 asked Number 8. 【It indeed looks like the author's doing.】 【Project the incident onto the screen.】 ordered Number 3.
At 2 p.m. on October 14th, NY time, a sudden accident occurred in the U.S. Congress. Several congressmen suddenly accused Senator Wendell of being a "cultist," leading to a heated argument. During the argument, a congressman shot Wendell in the chest. Then, as everyone watched in shock, Wendell turned into a monstrous figure with a twisted face. The monster roared angrily and tore the congressman into pieces. Eventually, the monster was killed by the arriving military on its escape route.
No bodies were left after the monster's death, nor were there any corpses left of those killed by the monster. Though the accident only caused 2 deaths and 5 casualties, it stirred up a storm worldwide.
A strange term caught the attention of heads of state around the world.
Eternal Life Church.
The next day, countless pieces of information about the Eternal Life Church appeared to the public eye. It seemed that the Eternal Life Church had a presence all over the world, from the military to the political sphere. Like aliens, they quietly infiltrated human society and were slowly replacing humans. Particularly in the West Asia region, the Eternal Life Church had even replaced a certain country's military. Who exactly are they? What is their purpose? 【This is the summary of the believers of the upper world.】 【Has the author exposed our existence?】 Number 4 pondered and said, 【Do they want to use humanity's primal power to fight against us? That's not very clever.】 【At least they are brave.】
