novelraw Chapter 301: A massive loophole
Chapter 301: A massive loophole
In Mysterious Instances, finding a way to break the cycle is actually not difficult.
Take the current Instance for example; the lingering spirit causing the cycle clearly aims to annihilate or torment a specific force.
According to the information Alexander has gathered, each cycle lessens the spirit’s obsession a bit until it eventually vanishes entirely.
For a cycle to reach the scale we see now, the spirit’s obsession must be immense, signifying that its intent has never been fulfilled.
For instance, the person it wants to kill may have survived to the end, or their death was not sufficiently painful. As a result, repeated cycles not only fail to dissolve the lingering spirit’s obsession but intensify it, turning it into a frightening Mysterious Instance.
Most Mysterious Instances actually start as ordinary cycles. But as cycles fail to achieve their intended purpose time and again, the obsession deepens, ultimately resulting in terrifying Mysterious Instances like this one.
Take Bus Route 45, for example. According to Ghost Emperor’s speculation, it involves a girl who broke through the limitations and discovered the cycle’s existence.
She wanted to find the person responsible for a car crash or prevent it, but her wishes were never fulfilled.
The current Instance may have originally been just a chaotic gang fight. Yet, the object of the obsessive intent was never truly killed or tormented, which has continually strengthened the cycle to the uncontrollable state we see now.
Therefore, to break the cycle, one doesn’t even need to find out how the obsession was formed, or who is maintaining the cycle.
All you have to do is identify the person that the lingering spirit wants to kill or torment and release its obsession; the cycle will naturally be broken.
Compared to Bus Route 38, where you have to cycle through until a bullied young girl appears, this is far simpler.
Of course, saying that the method to break the cycle is easy to find doesn’t mean that breaking the cycle itself is easy.
On the contrary, for other participants, this cycle is nearly insoluble.
Take Alexander, for instance; even he dares not step out in a situation fraught with duplicates of gang members engaging in chaotic brawls.
For participants without the power of the "forbidden," going outside equates to death, as does staying inside and waiting for the locals to come knocking. Survival is a luxury.
Take the gang member holding a handgun as an example: if he shoots at you, the bullet has no effect on a ghost.
However, if you don’t die, he will realize you’re a participant, go into Rampage State, and still manage to kill you!
For Alexander, though, it’s a different story. These are all test subjects delivered right to his door! He won’t be polite.
The poor gang member, bewildered by a room full of Alexanders, doesn’t even have time to react before he’s pinned to the ground by a molten lava spear.
After killing this gang member, Alexander continues to wait in the room. In just half a day, over a dozen people have intruded.
The strongest among them was a Ghost Imperial, who was also predictably killed in an instant.
The room is now filled with as many as five hundred duplicates of Alexander. Any more, and there won’t even be room to stand.
"What a pity. I can’t go out now. If I could find a place to settle, imagine how many duplicates I could create during this time," Alexander lamented, looking around the room that no longer had any space to offer.
"Shall I go out and look? The battle outside should be nearing its end. I can use spatial power to check the nearby rooms for empty spaces where we can place other duplicates," suggested the third duplicate of Alexander.
"What’s the point? Once the cycle ends, all these duplicates will disappear anyway!" Alexander duplicate number 26, who had a bandage wrapped around his head, shook his head, dismissing the idea.
"What about using the Ring of the Forbidden to directly open a portal to the real world within the Mist Instance? Maybe we can travel to the real world through the power of the Forbidden and then enter the Horror World Instance from there. Once inside, we can use the items from the Mist Instance to directly go into the Cangshan City Instance," suggested duplicate number 73.
The eyes of all Alexander duplicates in the room lit up at once.
"That’s indeed a great idea!" Duplicate number 3 nodded enthusiastically, adding, "In that way, not only can I stay in this Instance to continue creating duplicates, but you all can also go outside to enter other cycles and collect Ghost Crystals and Ghost Food!
The only question is whether the duplicates will continue to exist after leaving the Mist Instance. After all, there are some limitations considering only the original can use Ghost Food."
"Why wonder when we can just try it out!" Alexander interrupted the discussion among the duplicates, making a decisive statement.
The Ring of the Forbidden sliced through the air, tearing the fabric of space.
Fortunately, on the other side of the spatial rift was an uninhabited rooftop terrace, minimizing any commotion in the real world.
Duplicate number 1 took the lead and walked through the spatial rift.
All eyes were fixed on him. This experiment was crucial. If duplicates could leave the Mist Instance, that would be a massive loophole.
Alexander’s combat capabilities were far beyond any ordinary ghost. With multiple top-tier talents, he is a formidable being.
Moreover, the duplicates share the original’s intelligence and way of thinking, which can alleviate the scarcity of Alexander’s command and management staff.
There’s no worry about betrayal, as all the duplicates share the same goals and understand that the final battle is imminent; betrayal serves no purpose.
Even if the duplicates were to disappear upon entering the real world, there’s nothing to fear. If they can’t leave the Instance, they will vanish completely once the next cycle begins, anyway.
Under everyone’s gaze, duplicate number 1 Alexander stepped out of the spatial rift.
A few seconds later, a look of ecstasy appeared on his face, and a Ghost Bead materialized in his hand. However, moments later, his expression soured.
"It’s no use. The Ghost Bead can’t be activated, and I can’t sense the contract either. Thankfully, my identity as a Chosen One still holds," he said.
"That’s a relief! If we can’t return via the Ghost Bead, then we can enter the Horror World directly through Instance registration using items," the original Alexander breathed a sigh of relief.
The inability to sense the contract was understandable, considering people like Su Rong didn’t have duplicate existences.
This could be a good thing as long as they could enter the Horror World.
Upon hearing the original Alexander’s command, duplicate number 1 didn’t hesitate. He pulled out a Ghost Treasure item and chose to activate it.
This card was one of the items used to settle debts at the auction; it allowed entry into a previously experienced Instance without the need for registration. To save time, this was undoubtedly faster than searching for an Instance to register.
With Karin’s assistance, these Ghost Treasures, which were not very useful for the Fierce Ghost Association but might be handy at some point, had all been collected by Alexander into his storage ring.
As expected, this time they came in handy!
With the item’s activation, the figure of duplicate number 1 vanished from the rooftop. Then came numbers 2, 3, and so forth; one after the other, the duplicates exited and chose to enter an Instance.
Perhaps because the duplicates were complete copies of Alexander’s behavior, even their choice of Instance was uniform—they all opted for the same one: the Undead Bar.
As a result, the entire Undead Street experienced the most horrifying day in its history.