novelraw Chapter 421: Variable
Chapter 421: Variable
The target valley lay in utter silence.
The steep rock walls were barren, exposing vast swathes of deep-gray mineral veins that resembled condensed ash. Under the dim sky, they gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen.
This was the typical terrain of “ash crystal ore.”
Guided by the coordinates stored in the recording crystal, Jie Ming precisely located the exact area where samples had been collected in the previous loop.
It was the midsection of a near-vertical cliff face.
“Here.” Jie Ming raised his hand. A faint glow of alchemy light flickered at his fingertip.
With his refined control, he guided the earth and stone elements to flow away from the rock wall like water.
The hard stone before him softened like loose sand, peeling away layer by layer under an invisible hand.
As the excavation deepened, an extremely abrupt sight unfolded before the three of them.
The once continuous and uniform deep-gray mineral vein had been replaced here by an enormous cavity with unnaturally smooth, perfectly regular edges. The cavity was roughly rectangular, about ten meters long, five meters wide, and more than eight meters deep.
Its inner walls were mirror-smooth, as though sliced away in an instant by some absolutely sharp tool, forming a stark contrast with the rough, natural fracture surfaces of the surrounding ore.
The volume of the cavity matched exactly the volume of the raw ore Jie Ming had collected in the previous loop.
Jie Ming retrieved the entire batch of ash crystal ore from his Inner Cave Heaven and suspended it in midair.
The dull gray pile of ore and the smooth gap in the cliff face created an eerie visual correspondence.
No precise measurement was needed; a simple sweep of mental power was enough to confirm that the volume and morphological features matched perfectly.
“Look here.” Vivian pointed to the junction between the cavity edge and the normal vein. “There are no signs of compression or stretching at this fracture, nor any traces of energy erosion or high-temperature melting. Normally, if such a large cavity formed naturally, there would at least be various distinctive marks.”
Roland crouched down, running his fingers along the smooth inner wall and releasing a micro-material structure analysis spell:
“The composition is identical to the surrounding vein. The crystal growth patterns at the cavity edge were not naturally severed… this is indeed a sudden ‘absence,’ not a ‘cavity that appeared for some reason.’”
Jie Ming nodded and returned the ore to the Cave Heaven.
The result was already clear.
For non-living native plane matter, when fully stored in an independent spacetime, it did not behave in the current loop’s timeline like living organisms—i.e., as though it “had never existed here.”
The gap in the cliff face was proof: this section of the vein had not returned to an “original state” where the cavity coincidentally existed. It was genuinely and abruptly missing.
This was fundamentally different from the phenomenon where fully stored Sickle-Skull individuals had their existence completely erased.
Moreover, just like the instruments, extracted materials were not immediately erased by the paradox.
“So the key difference really lies between ‘life’ and ‘non-life’?” Vivian mused. “Or more precisely, between whether they possess an ‘independent soul,’ ‘complex causal chains,’ and ‘collective social memory’?”
Roland offered another possibility: “It could also be a difference in timescale. Though the Sickle-Skull have existed for a long time, it is absolutely nothing compared to the age of a mineral vein. So the judgment mechanism of the time paradox may differentiate based on whether the entity predates or postdates the appearance of this special ability called time reversal.”
Jie Ming listened to his companions’ analysis as the puzzle pieces in his mind continued to fit together.
“The current evidence at least supports part of our hypothesis: the reason Sickle-Skull trigger the paradox and have their related memories corrected is very likely because they are living beings—and a highly socialized civilization.” Jie Ming summarized.
“As living beings, they possess individual and collective memory networks. As a civilization, their history, social relationships, and possibly even a ‘civilization will’ weave together into a vast web of causality. When a single individual is fully removed from the timeline, to maintain the logical coherence of the entire ‘story,’ this web automatically ‘repairs’ the related memory nodes, rationalizing the ‘absence.’”
“As for instruments and ores,” he continued, “they have no souls, no social memory. Their ‘existence’ is closer to pure material records. When deleted, what remains is the most direct physical void.”
Vivian’s eyes sharpened. “If this inference holds, it means… the possible ‘ruling will’ behind the Sickle-Skull—whether some super-entity, collective consciousness, or the loop mechanism itself—exercises control over the entire civilization that reaches deep into the levels of causality and memory!”
“It can not only reset time, but during the reset process, it can ‘edit’ the entire civilization’s historical memory like revising a text, ensuring the ‘coherence’ of the story!”
At that moment, the Netherweb terminals carried by all three vibrated simultaneously, projecting the scarlet runes of the highest emergency priority.
It was a mass broadcast combat situation report from the main camp command, personally signed by Frost.
The message was brief, but its content was grave:
【To all reconnaissance units: Multiple directions report abnormal large-scale concentration and high-speed maneuver of Sickle-Skull main forces. Movement trajectories show clear centripetal encirclement pattern.】
【Estimated target: our main camp and surrounding major forward bases. Force scale far exceeds any previous total assault estimate.】
【Comprehensive judgment: Sickle-Skull have prematurely activated final-stage combat plan. Full-scale war expected within 24 to 48 standard hours. All detached units immediately cease operations and return at maximum speed to main camp or nearest fortress. Repeat: immediately cease all operations and return at full speed!】
“So soon… this early!” Roland’s expression darkened.
“It seems our investigations, along with the previous large-scale clearing operations, really struck a nerve,” Vivian analyzed quickly. “They’re no longer giving time for the ‘slow boil.’”
Jie Ming put away the terminal and took one last look at the smooth ore cavity in the cliff face, as though peering through it into the deeper shadow that might be manipulating memory and time.
“Let’s go.” He turned, his voice calm yet resolute. “The variable experiments need more loops to be perfected, but right now, we have something far more urgent to face.”
“Bringing back our findings and speculations is perfect. If we want to verify them, we need to enter the next loop quickly.”
Three figures no longer concealed their presence. They transformed into streaks of light that tore through the air, racing at maximum speed toward the main camp.