Divine Beast Creator

Chapter 1860 - 1861: The Mystery

Feng Yuan rubbed his chin, thinking of something. If this isn’t the cyclical reuse of map resources, hasn’t he encountered this many times before?

"Strangely, it feels somewhat familiar. If this place is unrelated to game mechanics, it makes me think of that Little Crocodile~"

Veronia supported her chin with a helpless look and said. Yang Hongzhi instantly realized what Veronia was referring to: a time loop! If it’s not a case of model reuse, this explanation seems more reasonable. Of course, it could also be a spatial loop, but spatial loops shouldn’t appear to be something beyond recognition.

Unlike time loops, in which only those who step outside the loop or are unaffected by time can notice the repetitions, spatial loops are simply about being trapped in one place. If one purposely ignores this trait, it’s not impossible, but Yang Hongzhi feels this possibility is low.

Feng Yuan hadn’t considered this possibility because evidently, they wouldn’t spend effort to set these details meticulously. With the materials from the Data Domain, things like these can be automatically completed. The NPCs now showing no reaction is likely related to the time loop.

As for the broken train head, Feng Yuan thought of a possibility: in a time loop, there is something known as a memory time loop. Essentially, it’s a special existence distorting a region’s space-time to continuously replay a scene from its memory.

Excessive destruction causes space-time disintegration, meaning that the root cause of all this must be a particular entity. Its memories trigger the entire memory time loop, causing a scene from its memory to replay continuously.

Voicing his speculation, Veronia nodded and said,

"What you’re saying is quite reasonable. If it were just external forces causing changes in the time loop, at the very least, there would be some indications. This total ignorance of change indeed resembles a memory loop."

"Wait, Najia, do you remember that woman we saw earlier?"

Recalling something, Veronia looked at Najia on Yang Hongzhi’s shoulder and asked. Najia paused, thought of something, and said,

"You’re saying there’s something off about her? Indeed..."

"Are you talking about that strangely dressed woman?"

Yang Hongzhi questioned Najia on his shoulder, who nodded and said,

"Yes, although her clothes look similar to others, they’re essentially modern fabrications. In that period, there weren’t such styles of clothes. The Lei Hua Pendant, for instance, was designed 570 years after this station’s corresponding period. Before that, this kind of accessory didn’t exist, and aside from that..."

Seeing Yang Hongzhi’s eyes glaze over, Feng Yuan turned away to chuckle, not expecting that Najia and Veronia had such deep knowledge of fashion. Of course, Feng Yuan could have identified it too, as every era’s culture has its style. When later generations replicate them, unless they’re creating fake relics, they will make some adjustments due to contemporary aesthetics.

Clothing is the most obvious. Even if there might not be much difference overall, people familiar with different eras’ cultural traits can immediately see which clothes have been optimized and altered. Of course, if you ask where exactly the problem is, they might not be able to tell you.

"Alright, let’s go find that person. The specifics of clothing..."

Seeing Najia still talking, Feng Yuan interrupted with a smile, following Feng Yuan’s peculiar gaze towards Yang Hongzhi. Najia quickly realized it, blushed, and lowered her head in silence. Veronia cleared her throat and said,

"After all, she was the only suspicious person we saw earlier. But because we were in a hurry to find you then, I’m not sure if there are other suspicious individuals."

"No worries, let’s go take a look first."

Hugging Xiao Ji, Feng Yuan said, but regarding investigating on the train again? That’s better left alone. Disassembling it a few more times might cause this memory time loop to collapse.

"Hmm, it is quite noticeable."

Walking with Veronia for a while, Feng Yuan expressed surprise. Though that person was wearing a dress similar to others, it was only similar in a general sense. The details and decorations were entirely mismatched. At first glance, it might not be apparent, but after a while, the oddity becomes noticeable.

"Looks like you noticed as well~"

Veronia glanced with a peculiar smile at Feng Yuan, who scratched his head as Yang Hongzhi asked in confusion,

"Why can you all see something’s off while I feel she doesn’t differ from others."

"Hmm, you could say that you’ll understand after looking more. By the way, have you tried talking with her?"

Shooting a glance at Yang Hongzhi, Feng Yuan inquired with Veronia and others. Shaking her head, Veronia pointed to the empty track ahead and said,

"I asked, but it seems she’s waiting for someone. However, I already noticed that for some reason, no train ever passes on this track."

Though train whistles would occasionally sound, quite peculiarly, no train ever traversed the track in front of that woman. Seeing her wistful and expectant expression, Feng Yuan pondered and said,

"Should I ask her?"

"Go ahead."

Putting Xiao Ji down, Feng Yuan approached the woman, who kept silently gazing at the track ahead. Feng Yuan tapped her shoulder and asked,

"Are you waiting for someone?"

The woman turned to glance at Feng Yuan, nodded, and once again looked toward the rails. Scratching his head, Feng Yuan asked,

"Uh, can you tell me who you’re waiting for?"

The woman shook her head, remaining silent. After several probing attempts, Feng Yuan realized she wouldn’t speak and just nodded or shook her head. Feeling a headache, he went back to Veronia and the others, glanced at Veronia’s sly smile, and grumbled,

"Why didn’t you tell me she’s mute?"

"Mute? She can speak, but you need to provoke her. Of course, if it truly turns out to be as we suspect, hurting her might be problematic."

Snorting lightly, Veronia said flatly. The issue with that woman’s attire had already caught her attention earlier, but her attacks hadn’t caused much harm, only allowing an understanding from the woman’s words during battle that she was waiting for someone.

She didn’t know much beyond that since Najia noted the sudden departure of the train Feng Yuan boarded. They hurried off to find him naturally without continuing to provoke her, though maybe that’s a good thing. If she’s the key to all this, according to the rules of a memory time loop, if anything happened to her, the entire area might collapse.

"A fight? No wonder you didn’t come with me just now."

With a peculiar glance at Veronia, Feng Yuan understood why she hadn’t approached earlier. They had already clashed, and going now might trigger another fight. However, even knowing she’s waiting for someone seems useless...

"Wait..."

Feng Yuan, feeling the headache, suddenly remembered something. His gaze swept toward the platform in the mist. If he didn’t remember wrongly, when running back earlier, he saw that thing... meaning, could he switch the tracks?

"How about we switch the train’s track to in front of her? Maybe the solution here is to bring another train in front of her or move her to a different platform?"

Looking at Yang Hongzhi, Feng Yuan proposed, Najia thought for a moment and said,

"Doing so might prompt her to act, but changing tracks should be feasible. Only, we should avoid a collision situation as many trains come and go from this place."

"It’s better not to move hastily. Check both sides first before considering how to adjust. By the way, is there no dispatch room here?"

Yang Hongzhi queried, his gaze surveying around. Feng Yuan gave him an odd look and said,

"There should be, but it might not help us much, right? During this period, switching tracks wouldn’t use automated equipment."

"No, there’s a need to check the dispatch room. If the train she’s waiting for really exists, there should be records in the dispatch room."

Veronia pinched her chin and told Feng Yuan.