You said mechs were going to fight monsters, but instead you're destroying stars with your bare

Chapter 188 Third Cycle?!

"Alright."

Li Zhe didn't care about this.

For him, this was actually the best outcome.

He could finally break free from those tedious constraints and devote himself wholeheartedly to his grander plans.

[Commander, all 'energy nodes' have been recovered, and we are ready to proceed with the next phase of construction on the 'decoy city' at any time.]

Zero's voice echoed in my mind.

"very good."

Li Zhe stood up and stretched.

Tomorrow is September 1st.

"It's time to let the world see... what a true 'miracle' really is."

He walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, looked at the tranquil sea shimmering in the moonlight, and his eyes sparkled with an unprecedented light.

Silent all night.

When the first rays of sunlight in the morning shine upon this sea area once again.

Li Zhe awoke from his deep sleep.

However, when he prepared to check today's date...

The scene before him struck him like a thunderbolt...

……

The morning sunlight filtered through the gaps in the blinds, casting dappled shadows in the room, and the air was filled with a faint salty smell of the sea and the fresh scent of the bedding.

Everything seemed so peaceful and serene.

However, at that moment, Li Zhe's heart sank into a cold abyss.

His gaze was fixed intently on the screen of his personal terminal.

The date was clearly displayed on it.

Crisis Era Year 1, September 20st.

"..."

A sense of confusion arose in Li Zhe's mind.

He sat blankly on the bed, feeling as if his body was frozen by an invisible cold current, unable to move even a finger.

time……

Once again, we're back to square one?
This is not a dream.

It's not an illusion either.

But a...

An inescapable cycle!?

"commander?"

Zero's voice echoed in my mind, still as calm and efficient as ever, yet carrying a hint of naive bewilderment.

According to my system logs, we have successfully infiltrated the construction site of "Third New Tokyo City" and are currently en route to the East China Joint Defense Mech University to participate in a freshman combat exercise...

"do not talk."

Li Zhe's voice was hoarse and deep.

He suddenly jumped out of bed and slammed his fist hard against the wall next to him!

"boom--!"

The sturdy alloy wall was dented by a huge fist-shaped indentation from the punch that contained all his rage.

Spiderweb-like cracks spread rapidly from the center of the fist mark.

[Warning! Your heart rate has exceeded 200 beats per minute, your adrenaline levels are severely elevated, and your stress level has reached a dangerous threshold! We recommend that you take immediate action...]

"I told you, don't speak."

Li Zhe completely silenced the alarm sound.

He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving violently.

He couldn't accept it.

I put in all my effort and planned meticulously, and finally managed to get everything back on track.

The harvest season is just around the corner.

result……

When I woke up, everything had been ruthlessly wiped out?
All efforts have come to naught.

All the plans turned out to be a laughable futility.

This feeling is like a programmer who has worked tirelessly for a month, writing hundreds of thousands of lines of code, and the project is about to go live, but then...

The server was formatted by an intern, and there was no backup. A wave of despair and anger, enough to cause an immediate heart attack, instantly overwhelmed Li Zhe.

"Who... is behind this?"

He took a deep breath and gradually calmed down.

Anger solves nothing.

We must find a way to break this damn cycle.

He forced himself to calm down and began to carefully analyze every detail of these two "cycles".

The first time, he thought it was a dream and chose to "let nature take its course," but ended up back at the starting point.

The second time, he tried to change the "script," plan ahead, and control the overall situation, but the result was...

We've returned to where we started.

Does this mean that the triggering condition for this loop is unrelated to one's own behavior?

Or……

No matter what choices you make, is the final outcome already predetermined?

A deep sense of powerlessness welled up in my heart.

He felt that no matter how hard he struggled, he could not escape that invisible bondage.

"No...that's not right."

Li Zhe shook his head violently, trying to banish the negative thought from his mind.

"There must be something I've overlooked."

His gaze sharpened once more.

"Zero, perform the highest precision cross-comparison of all the data from these two loops. I need to know what kind of differences exist between these two loops."

【Yes, Commander.】

The sound of zero rang out again, but this time, it didn't offer any further "concern".

Instead, they carried out Li Zhe's orders with absolute loyalty and efficiency.

Massive amounts of data flashed by rapidly in Li Zhe's field of vision.

Two days, twenty-two days, five hundred and twenty-eight hours...

Everything was deconstructed, analyzed, and compared under Zero's incredible computing power.

Time passed by minute by minute.

Li Zhe's heart clenched tighter and tighter.

He desperately wanted to find a glimmer of hope in this vast ocean of data that could break free from his fate.

at last……

After a half-hour period of intense, almost self-torturing mental concentration.

The sound of zero rang out once more.

[Commander, comparison complete.]

[99.9999% of the data matches perfectly.]

【but……】

Its voice paused, as if making a final confirmation.

I've discovered... a unique variable.

"What is it?"

Li Zhe suddenly raised his head, his eyes flashing with an unprecedented light.

This is... your 'maintenance hangar'.

Zero's answer surprised Li Zhe.

At the end of the first cycle, your maintenance hangar contained a total of 12 'Energy Nodes' and several tons of rare alloys.

At the end of the second cycle, in addition to these, one more... [World Tree Seed] was obtained.

Although after the time reset, these 'extra' items disappeared without a trace, as if they had never existed.

But the energy fluctuations they generated in the final moment of their 'existence' left a barely perceptible, yet undeniably real... data echo in my core database.

"what do you mean……"

Li Zhe's heart began to race uncontrollably.

"Yes, Commander." Zero's voice carried a hint of barely suppressed excitement.

This cycle is not absolutely 'closed'.

While it can reset time and everyone's memories, it cannot reset... the 'cause and effect' that has already occurred.

(End of this chapter)