this infinite world

"Yang Yun..."

Even with Zheng Zha's dull sense, he could feel the tension in the air.

——There are too many things that don’t make sense.

Zheng Zha had absolute trust in Yang Yun, there was no doubt about that. But that didn't mean he could remain indifferent after Yang Yun predicted in advance which members of the Zhongzhou team would be dragged into the inner world by Alessa.

Especially in Zheng Zha's opinion, Yang Yun has been acting very strangely since entering Silent Hill. Not only is he often distracted, but his personality has also changed to a certain extent from before: "What do you know?"

"Sometimes, humans have some pretty strange dreams."

Yang Yun did not answer this question, but talked about something that seemed to have nothing to do with the current situation: "I will dream of some extremely real experiences, or it seems that things in reality are completely reproduced. At first glance, it seems that it can be perfectly integrated into life and there will be no problems. But when you think about it carefully, you will find that there is no time for these things to happen..."

"Is this the reason why you said those words just now?"

Although Yang Yun's words were rather awkward, Zheng Zha still understood what he meant: "You suspect that you are in a dream, and all of us are actually just characters in your dream... To be more precise, are we just imagining things, and part of your inner demon?"

"Well, I did think so at first."

Yang Yun nodded and admitted it openly. Since he knew what Zheng Zha had experienced in A Nightmare on Elm Street, he had considered this answer from the beginning: "But after confirmation, I have ruled out this possibility."

——Dreams can’t be so detailed.

——Dreams can’t be so real.

——Dreams, it is even more impossible to reproduce such perfect teammates of the Zhongzhou team, create a complete worldview, and simulate the stories of more than a dozen worlds.

"Compared to the vague and unreliable dream, I prefer to believe that everything now is a memory that I have experienced before but have forgotten."

Yang Yun smiled faintly, his tone revealing a self-deprecating ease. He said, "But it is also thanks to looking back on the past that I realized that if I really have a demon in my heart, it must be related to my inability to step out of my comfort zone. It resides in my fear of 'change'."

Memory, forgotten memory.

That was an absolutely real past, an echo of "Yang Yun's" past memories, but from the perspective of Yang Yun today, the self in his memory had always been afraid of something.

He is afraid of the "positive people" and "negative people" outside the main god space; he is afraid that his true identity will be known by the main god, Zheng Zha, and especially by Chu Xuan; he is afraid of the enemies and difficulties that are not in his plan in various worlds, and he is also afraid of the demon team in Resident Evil 2, as well as the final battle that is about to come... and these countless fears together constitute the inner demon of "Yang Yun".

In the past, the essence of Yang Yun’s inner demon was the fear of “change”.

Just like what Zhang Jie said at the beginning, "Familiarity with the plot is the greatest reliance of the reincarnator", for Yang Yun, familiarity with the plot of "Infinite Horror" is his greatest reliance... And all along, this world has been very considerate and only changed some minor details, even the order of the worlds experienced by the Zhongzhou team has not changed. ——Until today, the Zhongzhou team, or Yang Yun, ushered in the first changed world.

"To be honest, I still don't understand what you want to say, Yang Yun."

Zheng Zha scratched his head. With his brain that had not been used for a long time, he could not understand the deep meaning of Yang Yun's words. But he felt the gradually increasing momentum and pressure from Yang Yun, and finally understood something: "But can I assume that... you have overcome your inner demons?"

"It's okay if you understand me that way. After all, I took a long detour."

Yang Yun smiled and did not refute Zheng Zha's understanding. Instead, he looked at Zhao Yingkong who was staring at him closely with a worried look in his eyes. "Also, Yingkong, I don't think I have said anything to you yet."

Thinking of the communication with Zhao Yingkong before entering the Silent Hill world, as well as the conversation, hug and promise made that night in Cairo City, Yang Yun's expression became more gentle: "I have always ignored your feelings and did not make a formal promise to you... I'm sorry."

When Zhao Yingkong heard these words that were no different from a confession, she was stunned for a moment, and then her cold face quickly turned red, like a red apple, very cute. But when she spoke, her words were still so cold: "You idiot, is this the time to say such things?"

"That's right, now is not the time to be nagging."

On the other side, Zheng Zha, who felt like he had eaten a large mouthful of dog food, couldn't help but sigh and folded his arms: "Yang Yun, if you want to say something else, you might as well say it directly."

"In my opinion, this is the most appropriate time to say this."

Yang Yun exhaled, and the memories of the past became clearer in his mind. The young man murmured to himself: "Maybe this is my chance, a chance to relive what happened in the past, to say what I have never said, and to make up for my regrets."

"In other words, are we in a time loop?" Zheng Zha tried to grasp the key information from Yang Yun's words. Although he did not fully understand, he still tried his best to express it in a way that he could understand: "What it means is that everything we are experiencing now is actually a fact that has happened once in the past, and it is precisely because you, Yang Yun, have this memory that you can reveal the truth of Silent Hill..."

"No, it's not a time loop, it's a story that has already been written and is being played out for the second time."

Yang Yun shook his head and said, "It's like I'm not talking to you right now, but to you in the future... Zheng Zha, I believe that if it were you, you would be able to hear it and understand what I'm saying."

In his mind, a picture suddenly flashed. It was not the current Zheng Zha who was at least 70% similar to the one in Infinite Terror, with white flames wrapped around his body and tiger soul in his hand. It was another Zheng Zha who was extremely unfamiliar, but had experienced more and grown more...

"The stories of the past have already been written, and the endings of certain characters are also predetermined."

As he spoke, Yang Yun slowly closed his eyes, feeling the familiar touch covering his entire body again——

When Yang Yun opened his eyes again, it was midnight, and Cheng Xiao, Wang Xia and the other two had completely disappeared. (End of this chapter)