Having hurriedly escaped from a higher world, Qi Yun finally stopped after traveling through several worlds. He would have to accept if his pursuers could still track him after so many jumps.
After entering a new world, Qi Yun took a deep breath and slightly moved his limbs, leaving streaks of traces around him.
A derivative world? Based on the current situation, Qi Yun searched his inherited memories for an introduction.
Derivative worlds belong to the lower spectrum, not because their inhabitants lack combat prowess but due to their inherent instability and uniqueness.
Instability refers to the non-continuity of time in derivative worlds, which are highly prone to resets, causing the inhabitants to be perpetually trapped in cycles, hindering any progressive development.
Uniqueness means derivative worlds often contain mainstream rules incompatible with the external universe. Due to the significance of these rules, even if someone in these worlds possesses extraordinary talent and breaks the world’s limits, they might die immediately.
Of course, derivative worlds can ascend. The simplest way is through a group of individuals retaining their memories across cycles, breaking the loop, and thus allowing the world to continue evolving.
Another method is establishing connections with the outer, larger worlds, slowly integrating mainstream rules, and subtly altering the world’s nature. If the world withstands the cataclysms during this transformation, it can ascend.
The last method is straightforward: find a compelling individual or force to elevate the world forcibly.
Qi Yun intended to leave this derivative world immediately, but after a moment, he reconsidered and retracted his halfway-stepped foot.
If he couldn’t find a semi-living or native world, a derivative world might suffice.
Deciding to observe the current state of this world first, Qi Yun thought if it was about to reset its timeline, he might as well leave.
The most significant difference derivative worlds posed for Qi Yun compared to other worlds was the stability of resources.
If other worlds were like springs continuously producing gold, with a low chance of drying up, derivative worlds were like stagnant pools containing gold, where outputs sometimes didn’t justify the inputs.
Each timeline reset would weaken the Main God space’s control over the world, and maintaining this control often costs as much as the brief outputs generated.
This was why Qi Yun’s predecessor rarely dealt with derivative worlds—it wasn’t worth it.
However, while others started with a silver spoon, Qi Yun was nearly starving, so he wasn’t as picky.
After descending to Earth, Qi Yun saw a city in ruins and empty streets.
After swiftly moving through the air, he finally encountered signs of life, if they could be called that.
With a staggering gait, decomposed appearances, and only instinctual behaviors, these beings indicated that Qi Yun was in a post-apocalyptic zombie world.
Following a zombie for a few seconds, Qi Yun deactivated the shield around him, but the zombie still couldn’t detect him.
Given their low sensory abilities, this might be a suitable world for an initial mission.
Suddenly, Qi Yun detected a strange power from afar. This power swept over a zombie, instantly nullifying all its abilities and turning it into a corpse on the ground.
Frowning, Qi Yun flew towards the source of the disturbance.
It didn’t take long for him to arrive there, where, besides heaps of corpses, there was only a woman covered in blood sitting amidst the carnage.
Seeing her, Qi Yun recognized this world as one from the Resident Evil universe.
“What do you think all my effort is for?” Alice murmured, looking at her hands, “Nothing changes. What’s the point if it all just restarts?”
Qi Yun was stunned; was he discovered again? Are people nowadays so adept at seeing through illusions?
But since he was discovered, he might as well have a chat.
“Don’t overthink it; these are the world’s rules. You’re lucky to have survived,” Qi Yun said, sitting beside Alice.
To his surprise, Alice looked terrified yet relieved upon hearing him.
“Ha… sorry, I thought you were talking to me,” Qi Yun realized the situation—he had let his imagination run wild.
“No!” Alice grabbed Qi Yun, “Don’t go! Please tell me how to end this damn cycle!”
“Are you sure you want it to end?” Qi Yun flicked her hand away.
Alice looked up, puzzled.
“Isn’t this a kind of immortality?” Qi Yun spoke softly, “You’re the only one who remembers the cycles. Isn’t each recurrence a new beginning?”
“No! It’s this cycle that traps us! If possible, please break it!” Alice knelt decisively.
“I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.”
Qi Yun looked at the sky, “Without the cycle, the world ends, and so does everything you know.”
“What do you mean…” Alice didn’t understand Qi Yun’s point.
“This world is like a ring,” Qi Yun explained, forming a golden complex ring with his energy.
.
“What you see as the cycle is just time running continuously on this ring, like an endless TV show.”
“Breaking the cycle means this ring must shatter.”
With a snap of his fingers, Qi Yun shattered the ring in his hand into a shower of golden sparks dispersed in the air.
The world’s cycle was about to begin anew.
“So, we’re doomed to repeat forever?” Alice looked downhearted.
“Well… if you want, I can make you forget so much; sometimes, knowing too much is the source of suffering,” Qi Yun looked down at Alice.
“No!” Alice stood up, her figure radiant. Under her light, the world’s cycle was slightly delayed.
“I don’t believe the world is hopeless; there must be hope somewhere. I will find it, for I have countless chances!” Alice’s determination filled the air.
Listening to Alice’s emphatic speech, Qi Yun looked at her with increasing approval.
He was indeed fortunate to have found a treasure in a derivative world.
“Time’s up. Is there anything else you want to say?” Qi Yun asked Alice.
Their surrounding world had already collapsed to a mere ten miles.
Alice shook her head, her eyes gleaming with hope.
At the last moment, Alice heard a phrase.
“The way to break the cycle starts with a variable. I will bring you this variable; it is up to you whether you can seize it.”
As Qi Yun finished speaking, Alice lost consciousness, awakening only at specific moments. Qi Yun wanted to see if she could change the mechanism independently. Her value would be high enough for him to intervene if she could.
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