Ji Yushi once saw an introduction to the base in the book Golden Crow No. 1: Perpetual Propagation, where he also came across the plan for the next stage, Golden Crow Two.

“The network here is closed, so we can’t directly locate the base, but we can search for it,” Ji Yushi said. “The base is enormous, shaped like half a sphere, with two bases arranged in a mirror image.”

Song Qinglan thought for a moment. “Is it like an upside-down bowl?”

Ji Yushi confirmed it was.

Song Qinglan added, “When you were reading at the bookstore, I saw this place with Team 3’s Duan Wen through a drone, but I don’t know if it was Golden Crow One or Golden Crow Two.”

As she spoke, Song Qinglan asked Duan Wen to relaunch the drone to check.

The vehicle started moving.

They left the small hillside behind the bookstore, which had repeatedly served as a temporary base.

From afar, the area looked lush and green, with buildings standing tall and dense foliage covering the slopes. Even the zombies wandering aimlessly appeared almost like ordinary humans, giving the illusion of a world untouched by mutation.

Meanwhile, Team 2, still in the second cycle, was inside the bookstore, poring over materials and devising strategies.

They didn’t know that in just over two hours, they would be chased by a sudden black wall, fail to escape in an old off-road vehicle, and be completely engulfed by that all-encompassing darkness.

Regarding the memories of their escape from the bookstore during the second cycle, most team members had little recollection, except for Zhou Mingxuan, who was still alive at that time.

With the controls handed over to Tang Qi, Zhou Mingxuan felt conflicted, his memories hazy.

“Consultant Ji, isn’t it hard to remember all the bad memories?” Zhou Mingxuan asked as he leaned against the side of the vehicle, sitting on the floor.

Like Song Qinglan, Ji Yushi was known to have hyperthymesia, a condition everyone had heard about during their time in the Sky Vault. But it wasn’t until now, after spending time with him, that they truly understood its impact.

Zhou Mingxuan ran his hand over the short hair on the back of his head. “I have trouble adjusting. It feels like I’ve been having nightmares, and sometimes I can’t tell what’s real.”

When the vehicle collided with the barbed wire fence, Zhou Mingxuan broke his neck instantly.

What does a person think about in their final moments before death?

Zhou Mingxuan might be able to answer that question someday.

Ji Yushi quietly observed him.

The white t-shirt made Ji Yushi’s face look smaller, softening his sharp appearance and making him seem more delicate.

Zhou Mingxuan glanced at Song Qinglan’s seat and, embarrassed, said, “I’m nowhere near as strong as Team Leader Song, but since you can manage, Consultant Ji, I wanted to ask how you deal with it?”

Zhou Mingxuan had finally decided to ask. He had been somewhat dismissive when Ji Yushi first joined the team, but now he was eating his words.

Fortunately, Ji Yushi was approachable and replied, “Distract yourself.”

Zhou Mingxuan was puzzled.

Ji Yushi explained, “Find something else to focus on. You’ll soon have no energy left to think about the things you don’t want to remember.”

Zhou Mingxuan asked, “Like what?”

Ji Yushi, in all seriousness, responded, “Like joining a new team, traveling to another world, and fighting monsters together.”

Duan Wen had found the drone and re-located the giant, upside-down bowl-shaped structure.

Song Qinglan said, “We have a space vehicle, so we should reach there before Team B.”

Back then, Duan Wen and someone else had discovered the base together. Now, that other person had joined Team B, so Team B was likely heading there directly.

The space vehicle ran over three or four zombies, splashing blood.

This was the direction out of the city. While there weren’t many zombies, the road conditions were poor.

It seemed that during the catastrophe, most people had thought of fleeing the city. The road was littered with damaged and parked vehicles, making progress slow.

“If this turns out not to be Golden Crow Two, we’ll have to continue to the next base,” Song Qinglan planned. “They have fewer people and lack equipment, so we can leave some gear for them.”

Unknowingly, Team A had become the most well-equipped and fully-staffed team among the various split-off groups.

Apart from Ji Yushi being injured, they were better prepared than when they first arrived in this world.

Duan Wen asked, “Team Leader Song, should we contact them and explain? We’ve already lost communication with Team 2, so we shouldn’t worry about being detected and causing a paradox.”

Song Qinglan pondered.

Contacting Team B shouldn’t cause a paradox since they were on parallel timelines with no causal relationship.

Moreover, aside from leaving equipment for Team B, they might also be able to get something in return—like Ji Yushi’s medicine.

When they were captured by the black-faced man, their communicators, equipment, and Ji Yushi’s medicine box were all discarded.

Besides, Song Qinglan also recalled the game console that had been broken by the black-faced man. Ji Yushi, who was so vengeful that he had nailed the man’s hand to the vehicle after escaping, still struck Song Qinglan as impressively tough.

However, he hadn’t expected Ji Yushi to bring a game console on a mission. He vividly remembered how Ji Yushi had expertly manipulated Tetris during a lecture.

Perhaps the game console was a gift from someone important.

Song Qinglan glanced back. Ji Yushi was still sitting on the equipment box, leaning against the vehicle wall, with his eyes closed. It was unclear whether he was sleeping from exhaustion or too pained to stay awake.

Zhou Mingxuan sat beside him, lost in thought, seemingly afraid that Ji Yushi might fall over and aggravate his wounds if he nodded off.

The other team members kept quiet, not wanting to disturb Ji Yushi.

This was already a new version of Team Seven of the Sky Vault.

Song Qinglan smiled slightly and said softly, “Let’s wait and see if it’s necessary.”

The space vehicle struggled along the obstructed road for nearly an hour before Song Qinglan finally confirmed they had found the Golden Crow One base using road signs and other markers.

When they arrived at the base’s entrance, the massive space vehicle appeared tiny against the backdrop of the giant circular structure.

The midday sun was high in the sky.

Shadows were cast at their feet.

The metallic surface of the building reflected the blinding sunlight.

Ji Yushi had already opened his eyes. He stood up, supporting himself against the vehicle wall, and observed the surroundings from the front of the space vehicle.

A five-meter-high barbed wire fence surrounded the entire base. There was no greenery nearby, and the ground was barren. In the empty space, several zombies in white work clothes wandered aimlessly.

Hearing the vehicle, the zombies rushed to the barbed wire, only to be electrocuted by high voltage, their bodies bouncing off. The air was filled with the horrific smell of charred rotting flesh and the post-apocalyptic atmosphere typical of sci-fi films, reminding everyone of the origins of this world’s light and disaster—the artificial sun.

The base’s security monitoring equipment was still operational. As the space vehicle approached, the equipment emitted a warning: “Dangerous area. Please leave immediately!”

The group distributed equipment, with Tang Qi and Zhou Mingxuan carrying it off the vehicle, intending to place it in the security checkpoint at the entrance.

Song Qinglan led the way, and a faint sound came from above.

He looked up to see a bee-sized drone circling him.

On the vehicle, Duan Wen saw it too and cursed with a laugh, “Damn, is that the other me controlling it?”

Li Chun, standing next to him, grinned and egged him on, “Brother Wen, go greet your twin!”

Duan Wen replied, “Hey, it really does feel like being twins. If it were me, I’d also send a drone to follow us. Great minds think alike, we’re in sync!”

Tang Le, staring at his brother’s back, remarked meaningfully, “When your brother wants to hit you for no reason, you won’t like this kind of sync.”

Earlier in the vehicle, Tang Qi’s face had darkened after a few words with Song Qinglan. Without warning, he walked over and punched Tang Le. “Curious, aren’t you? No sense of discipline, huh?!”

Tang Le, bewildered, shouted, “What did I do?!”

Tang Qi continued to hit him as he walked, saying, “Next time you see any two-tailed dogs or three-tailed cats, you’re not allowed to chase them! Got it?!”

“What dogs and cats?!” Tang Le was furious. “You’re just finding an excuse! I know you’re just in a bad mood and taking it out on your brother!”

Hearing this, Ji Yushi said, “You’re right.”

Tang Le, feeling validated, asked, “Consultant Ji, do you have an older brother too?!”

Ji Yushi replied calmly, “Yes. But I always beat him up.”

Tang Le was speechless.

The drone continued circling until it saw the three enter the security checkpoint, then it flew away. Team B couldn’t be far off, maybe half an hour away.

But soon, everyone saw the three exit the checkpoint without leaving the equipment, their expressions strange.

Even Song Qinglan looked unsettled.

Seeing this, everyone quickly disembarked from the space vehicle to investigate.

In the distance, a dozen zombies were running toward the base entrance.

Gunfire rang out.

Brains splattered as the zombies fell to the ground.

Ji Yushi shot a few with his Diamond Bird, but his abdominal wound was strained, causing him to break out in a cold sweat by the time he reached the security checkpoint. “What’s going on?”

Their original plan was to leave the equipment and go.

Ji Yushi had a bad feeling, his instincts always sharp in these matters.

He stayed where he was while Tang Le and the others ran into the security checkpoint. When they emerged, their faces were pale.

Song Qinglan had already composed himself.

Despite the heavy atmosphere, he spoke in a relatively light tone, “Do you want to hear the good news or the bad news first?”

“The bad news,” Ji Yushi responded almost immediately.

His sharp features were made even more intense by the cold sweat on his forehead.

“The bad news is, we died again, for some unknown reason,” Song Qinglan said, looking at him. “The good news is, the future us finally got a bit smarter and left us a message.”

It turned out that in the security checkpoint of Golden Crow One, they had found a clue left behind.

The ground was engraved with a message using a military knife: “Shut down the energy sources of both bases.”

The message was signed: Team 5.

From the handwriting, it was clear that Song Qinglan had left the message.

Team 5, with the experience from previous cycles, hadn’t wasted any time after the reset. Starting from the park, they had headed straight to their destination, arriving ahead of everyone else.

Then, as Song Qinglan had previously suggested, they had kept moving forward, even if it meant failure, leaving clues for the next attempt.

But no one felt any joy.

Because every reset was triggered by the complete annihilation of the previous team.

The so-called death elimination rule of the mission, as Ji Yushi had said, was to ensure that even if only one person remained, the task could be completed.

The appearance of Team 5 confirmed an unsettling fact: whether it was the current Team 3 or the parallel timeline’s Team 4, both would die in this cycle, leading to the formation of Team 5.

Just when they had reassembled, their spirits high, ready to give it another shot, this clue hit them like a death warrant, reminding them that they were all about to die.

In this alternate world constructed by the time axis, they seemed like fish caught in a net, unable to escape their predetermined fate.

Ji Yushi stood in shock, his pupils gradually contracting.

Team 5.

Shut down the energy sources of both bases.

That black wall…

Suddenly, a faint smile appeared on Ji Yushi’s pale face. When he looked up, his eyes were bright. “I know how to break the cycle!”

Everyone was puzzled.

Although Song Qinglan didn’t understand what Ji Yushi had figured out, he smiled too.

He looked at Ji Yushi and asked, “Consultant Ji, is there a reward for guessing right?”