Why it never ends

Chapter 1253 Room
Simoya's breath caught in her throat again. She never imagined that Sire and Clara would come up with such a method: claiming that they and others were in different time slices!

They thus created an identity that was both present and absent, and it sounded so plausible...

Simona pondered for a moment and wrote: "Then I suggest we don't wait until dawn to meet, but meet at midnight first."

“Here’s what I’m thinking: the banquet ends at nine o’clock, and Zoe and I will immediately go to Mrs. Brownbo’s room to keep watch. If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to speak to her right away. If we’re unlucky, and we run into a line of people waiting to see her, just like last time, we’ll stay there too. But if three hours have passed and no one has come out, then we won’t wait anymore. The four of us will meet again, exchange information, and decide how to spend the rest of the night.”

“Yes, that’s a good idea,” Zoe wrote. “In case the visitors to Mrs. Blancbo’s room never come out, we won’t be waiting outside all night. I suggest we go to the top tower of the castle around midnight; it’s quiet there and easy to talk.”

Si Lei and Clara both sent an OK emoji.

"That's brilliant! How did you guys come up with this ingenious idea?" Simona tapped rapidly. "The police profession itself carries a positive stance, but coming from the future also mitigates conflicts of interest with various parties. Isn't that a 'crowbar'?"

“Yeah, sometimes you can glean some extra information by observing how people react to the police,” Si Lei wrote. “The inspiration came from you, didn’t you just make up an identity last week?”
"Since we're going to make it all up anyway, let's make it bigger this time."

Simoya suddenly felt a surge of anticipation for tonight's game—bringing Sire and Clara along was an absolutely brilliant decision.

……

Hesta waited alone in an empty room.

The terminal did not come in with her, as if stepping into this room meant entering the mother city, and the terminal said it was not authorized tonight.

While this doesn't necessarily mean her subsequent conversation with Mother City was kept secret, it does imply that the Base acknowledges the existence of a boundary between itself and Mother City, and that the Base respects that boundary.

The room was devoid of any furniture; the only apparent decoration was the light gray carpet underfoot. It felt very thick, yet the fabric was remarkably smooth, and the carpet completely covered the floor, seamlessly blending with the walls.

There is no main light here; the light sources are hidden in various gaps. The color temperature is warm and very soft, and they hardly cast any sharp shadows in this space—because the walls are not flat, and there are no sharp corners or straight lines in sight; the edges of the room are like frozen waves.

Hester guessed that if someone were to look at the room from the outside at this moment, she might see a slightly oval, flattened sphere with a slight depression in the center, like a proportionally scaled-down underground cave, a cavity.

Although everything here was designed to create a tranquil and peaceful atmosphere for visitors, Hester felt a subtle unease the moment she stepped inside. The overwhelming gentleness, meant to soothe any intruder, immediately stirred a sense of being swallowed up within her. Unconsciously, she pressed the tip of her thumb against the pads of her four fingers, exploring the room while pondering the source of this unease.

The interior structure resembles a cave, with no doors between rooms, only irregularly shaped entrances. Each room is very small, generally less than two square meters in size; it's more like a confessional in a church than a room.

About fifteen minutes later, Hershta returned to the center of the room and sat down facing a curved gray wall.

Almost at that moment, ripples appeared on the wall, and the light and shadow in the room shifted. The soft light suddenly became bright, but quickly became too bright. Before everything became dazzling, it slid back to dim, as if someone was adjusting the parameters of the room.

At the same time, Hester realized that the ground was flowing—no, the ground was still; what was flowing was light and shadow. The ground here was like a wall, capable of transforming into a screen at any time.

The gray carpet quickly turned green, and white polka dots appeared on it. Beside Hershta, the outline of a dark green cast iron chair gradually became clear. She reached out towards the chair, which had appeared out of nowhere, with some disbelief—and then walked through it.

Hershta was amazed that the projection trick could fool the eye at such close range.

The moment her hand passed through the chair, a strong sense of incongruity arose. She felt nothing extra in her hand, but the scene before her made her feel as if she were reaching into water.

Then, a window appeared in the wall. Through the half-open window, Hester saw a patch of greenery bathed in sunlight, while white, floor-length curtains obscured half of his view.

Hershta finally realized what was happening in the room, and her discomfort instantly reached its peak. She then stood up, supporting herself on her knees.

"What are you doing!" Her voice was tinged with annoyance, as if she had been fooled. "Stop!"

All the changes disappeared; the carpets, windows, furniture... everything returned to how the room was originally.

A new text appeared on the curved wall directly opposite Hesta:
"I'm sorry, Jane. There was no malice in your behavior just now. We noticed that you seemed tense from the moment you entered the room, and we thought that the scene just now would help you relax."

"If this makes you uncomfortable, then it will never happen again."

Hershta frowned, looking around, but didn't see anyone approaching.

Her gaze returned to the curved wall before her, and she walked over and touched it. The smooth, delicate texture of the wall reminded her of the skin of a warm-blooded animal. Suddenly, a terrible thought flashed through her mind—this room seemed alive!

Hershta immediately withdrew his hand and took a step back.

"Who is talking to me?" Her voice returned to normal, but it still carried a hint of wariness.

The old text on the wall gradually faded out, and new text reappeared.

"This is Mother City No. 12."

The text appeared and then disappeared, and then the next line appeared.

"Don't be afraid, no one will hurt you here."

The text lingered for a little longer before fading away.

"You are safe."