I'm trapped in a block

Chapter 1241 Printing
"Perhaps we shouldn't be in such a hurry."

"Let's wait a bit longer. I'll go gather some information. At least we know now that creating a unique one is possible."

"The speed at which we travel through the world can be slowed down."

"I want to understand the nature of the Abyss better. This might help us find the world beyond the Abyss. Every world we reach and every person we meet has a different perspective on the Abyss. This is all valuable knowledge. I should calm down and listen to those different voices..."

Lu explained his ideas to Martin, who agreed.

Whatever decision you make, I will support you.

"Thank you."

……

Their world travel journeys have always placed great emphasis on "efficiency".

They don't have time to appreciate the scenery of different worlds, nor do they have time to get to know everyone they meet.

Arrived in haste, and left in haste.

Both Route and Martin are well aware of their mission: to find the container and help the worlds they reach fight against the Abyss.

At first, they will develop feelings for the world they arrive in and feel reluctant to part with those who helped them.

But gradually, as they experienced more and more worlds, they began to become numb. The struggles in each world seemed to be the same, and the crises faced in each world seemed to be different.

They became "saviors" as if it were a routine matter, and then left just before the world was about to come to an end.

"Efficiency" is the most important thing to them; everything else is irrelevant.

As they traveled, they gradually lost their sense of the world.

That's why the router recommends slowing down and taking the time to appreciate these similar yet different worlds.

Although playing cards are all the same, there will always be slight differences in the texture to the touch, the printing pattern, the weight in your hand, etc.

Humanity's understanding of the abyss will never be "complete".

Everyone can only glimpse a corner of the abyss, like the blind men and the elephant. The one who touches the elephant's body thinks it is a wall, the one who touches the elephant's tail thinks it is a whip. Even Lu Qi, who has a deep understanding of the abyss, cannot be sure that his understanding is correct.

By slowing down, he could hear other "blind people's" opinions about "elephants" to supplement his own knowledge.

"The abyss is a giant beast that only devours."

"The abyss is the breeding ground for the spread of chaos."

"The abyss is another, more advanced form of ecology."

"The abyss is an immune system that cleanses impurities."

"The abyss is a fictional illusion created by human thought."

"The abyss is a tool used by advanced civilizations for selection."

"The abyss is a weapon that destroys life."

"The Abyss is the malice that gathers the gaze of the Outer Gods."

"The abyss is the electric current surging in the observer's mind."

"The abyss is a spreading cancer cell in the world."

"..."

The designs printed on playing cards have no inherent meaning when no one assigns them any "cognition"; they are simply "designs".

The abyss, too, needs to be understood by people.

Cognition is a strange thing; there is never a distinction between "right" and "wrong," only different levels.

There is no hierarchy; after nesting layer upon layer of new cognition, we may return to the very first layer.

It's not like layers of onions, but rather a tangled Möbius strip, or colliding Klein bottles, where you can never distinguish between front and back, inside and outside, part and whole...

"I think I know what to do."

One day, Lu suddenly said to Martin.

"You've come up with a solution?"

"Yes." Lu Youqi nodded confidently.

"What method is it? Is it a way to find a world without the abyss, or a way to travel directly to those worlds?" Martin asked impatiently.

To his surprise, Lu Youqi simply shook his head.

"neither."

"None of those? Then what's the method?"

"We don't necessarily have to find those worlds..."

Lu Qi's gaze passed through the glass jar and looked behind Martin.

"We've been looking too far ahead; the answer is actually right behind us."

Martin turned his head in confusion. The tentacles inside the jar kept swaying, but he couldn't see anything.

"What do you mean by saying this?"

"We don't need to go so far to find blank paper. We just need to look back. Before they were printed, those playing cards were also blank paper. It's just that printing gave them meaning, gave them suits, numbers, letters, and patterns, and bound them to the rules."

Lu Luqi took out a small notebook from the side. Martin recognized the notebook; it contained Lu Luqi's observations and experiences along the way. After deciding to slow down, Lu Luqi would write a lot of things in the notebook every time he arrived in a new world.

"These worlds are inherently full of differences..."

"Before the abyss descended, they each had their own history, their own culture, their own path of civilization, and their own ideals. But after the abyss invaded, these worlds began to converge. The impact of the abyss was too great, and its influence on humanity was too great."

"And so the world was stained with color and began to gradually become 'parallel'. Under the influence of the power of the abyss, they began to have colors, numbers, letters, and patterns. The blank paper was no longer blank paper. It was printed with fixed rules and began to move in the same direction."

"Rather than saying that the Abyss connects these parallel worlds, it's more accurate to say that the Abyss makes the worlds parallel."

"Because of different understandings of the Abyss, the resistance launched by humanity also differs, but without exception, due to the invasion of the Abyss, all worlds inevitably begin to fight against the Abyss and inevitably fall into the game."

"To defeat the abyss, one must gain power; to gain power, one must accept the abyss..."

"This is the price, but it's inevitable."

"In the process of participating in the game, these worlds gradually become the playing cards."

"Energy spontaneously flows from high to low. The high-energy pollution of the abyss floods into the world as soon as the entrance appears. The various information it carries also begins to cover the original blank paper, just like flowing paint. Once it gets on, it is impossible to stop the discoloration."

"The blank slate we are looking for actually exists in the past of every world."

"But we can't go back to the real past. Even if we use the power of the abyss to go back to the past, we can only travel through the patterns on the playing cards."

"With paint all over your body, you can't find a real white sheet of paper; anything you touch will be stained with the color..."

"Our search for blank paper will become a step in printing playing cards. In fact, because of our actions, the world may become a playing card ahead of schedule. We, who carry the energy of the abyss, have become accomplices in the abyss printing blank paper."

"What should we do then?" Martin couldn't help but ask.

Despite all that he had said, Lu Qi still hadn't revealed the solution he had in mind, which made Martin extremely anxious, and the tentacles in the kimchi jar began to wave impatiently.

Martin didn't want to hear any more theories about playing cards, white paper, paint, or printing; he just wanted to know—what he should do.

Faced with Martin's persistent questioning, Lu You looked at him calmly and slowly explained, "There is a place where everything is blank."

"where?"

"The place where the first playing card was born..."

(End of this chapter)