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Chapter 1101: Small Bubble World

Zhao Wuji's consciousness seemed to be plugged into an old-fashioned TV, with glaring noise and fragmented images flashing before his eyes:

Li Jingling (The Last Second of the Real World)

Military Laboratory (flashing "source code" terminal)

The flames of the train explosion (the end of the previous cycle)

[System error: Memory pollution detected]

His vision suddenly became clear, and he found himself floating in a pure white void. Under his feet was a grid of ground made up of countless codes, and in the distance floated the wreckage of a broken carriage - like a virtual world that had been forcibly paused.

"Is this... the backend of the source code?"

[Warning: Insufficient user permissions, forced logout——]

"Wait!" Zhao Wuji tried to catch the data streams passing by, but his fingertips penetrated them. "System! Explain!"

no respond.

Suddenly, a strange memory forced its way into his consciousness—

Kurt Stevens's memory fragment - the last moments before the military transport plane crashed.

Goodwin's voice: "You have only part of your brain left..."

Endless darkness, and then the start of the source code program

"Ah!" Zhao Wuji's head almost split open, and he fell to his knees on the ground. This was not his memory, but the near-death experience of the original male protagonist Kurt Stevens!

【Emergency repair completed】

The system's voice finally sounded, but with an unusual electronic noise:

User: Zhao Wuji (ID abnormal)

Status: Memory synchronization rate 42%

The 18th cycle is about to restart

"Wait! Why can I see Kurt's memories? Am I not just a passerby?!"

【…】

The system was silent for a few seconds, and then a prompt popped up that he had never seen before:

[Deep permissions unlocked: Quantum entanglement effect detected]

[Speculation: Your consciousness resonated with Kurt Stevens's remaining memories when you traveled through time]

Zhao Wuji's pupils contracted: "So... I am now trapped in this cycle just like Kurt?"

[Negative. Your existence is still attached to the role framework of "Lin Yi", but the stability of your memory has decreased]

[Suggestion: Avoid further interference with the main plot, otherwise it may lead to dissolution of consciousness]

"Dissolve?!"

Before he could ask, the white space suddenly twisted and a familiar train announcement sounded:

"We have arrived at Chicago Union Station, passengers please—"

——The 18th cycle begins——

Countdown: 08:00

Zhao Wuji suddenly opened his eyes and returned to "Lin Yi's" body again. The newspaper was still on his knees, the coffee cup was steaming, everything was the same as before - except that there was a red warning bar on the edge of his system interface:

[Memory contamination risk: 32%]

"I have to be more careful this time..." He took a deep breath and quickly called up the environmental scan.

The bomb is still there, but the man in the peaked cap is sitting in a different spot this time, and the suspicious cello case is—disappeared?

"The plot has changed?"

[External correction detected: Military AI has removed abnormal variables]

[Current plot deviation returns to baseline value: 5%]

Zhao Wuji narrowed his eyes. So the "Guardian" AI is monitoring this world, and if it deviates too much, it will force corrections? But didn't Li Jingling say that this script has been honeypotted? Could it be that the military AI also remains?

As I was thinking, a cold female voice suddenly sounded in my ears:

"who are you?"

He froze. This voice wasn't from the system, nor from the train announcement - it was coming directly from his mind.

Goodwin's voice.

"You're not Sean, and you're not Kurt." Her tone was mechanically precise. "You're an error code."

Zhao Wuji's blood almost froze.

In the original script, Goodwin was a military operator responsible for monitoring Kurt's consciousness projection - but there was no way she would talk to a passerby!

"System! What's going on?!"

【…】

The system did not answer.

Instead, there was a line of flashing blood-red text:

[Warning: High-level permission scan detected]

[Suggestion: Reduce your presence immediately]

Zhao Wuji lowered his head suddenly, pretending to read the newspaper, but Goodwin's voice pierced his mind again:

"Lin Yi, 32 years old, data analyst, single." She read out his character background, "But your brain wave pattern does not match the template."

Countdown: 07:15

Cold sweat slid down his back. If Goodwin determined that he was a "wrong code", would the military AI directly delete his consciousness?

Suddenly, an urgent prompt popped up:

[Interference strategy: using "memory pollution" to reverse infiltration]

【Do you want to try to connect to Kurt Stevens' memory? 】

Zhao Wuji was stunned: "Won't this make me more unstable?"

[High risk, but can create interference signals]

He gritted his teeth: "Okay"

Instantly, severe pain struck, and his vision was forcibly cut into Kurt's memory fragments——

——In the military laboratory, Goodwin’s face flickered on the monitor screen——

"Kurt, listen to me, you are already dead, and now you are just a remnant of consciousness--"

"Ah!" Zhao Wuji groaned, feeling his consciousness being torn in two.

But it worked.

Goodwin's voice suddenly became intermittent: "Signal...interference...recalibration..."

Her connection was severed.

Countdown: 06:30

Zhao Wuji slumped in his seat, his head aching. The system interface flashed wildly:

[Memory contamination risk: 58%]

[Warning: Approaching critical value]

"Damn..." He panted and looked to the other end of the car.

Sean (possessed by Kurt) was standing up and walking towards the bomber's location as per the original plot - but this time, his movements were a little hesitant, and he even looked back in Zhao Wuji's direction.

Their memories synchronized briefly.

"He...remembers me?"

The system pops up a final warning:

[Remaining time for the 18th cycle: 06:00]

[Goal: Survive until reset]

[New risk: Military AI has marked you as abnormal]

Zhao Wuji clenched his fists.

He might survive this cycle - but what about the next one?

"I have reset the script several times, but this time is special. My memory has been polluted. The more I reset it, the more polluted it will be..."