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

Chapter 194 The Endless August
Li Zhe tried the most direct physical interference.

In the second cycle of the exercise, he ignored the so-called elite squads and, at the very first moment the exercise began, headed straight for the cave filled with strange plants.

He didn't even give the trap a chance to take shape, directly using a YJ-21 to completely erase the entire cavern along with the surrounding mountains from the map.

However, when he returned to the area that had been razed to the ground, the Seed of the World Tree was still like a bug that shouldn't exist.

It floated quietly in the center of the ruins, emitting a soft green light.

It was as if it were mocking his futile efforts.

Li Zhe also attempted to break the rules at the rule level.

He used Zero's supercomputing power and the knowledge he had accumulated in those countless cycles—enough to drive any programmer crazy—to try to find the source of that "variable" from the underlying code of the exercise.

He even managed to hack into the United Government's central server before the exercise began, modifying the terrain data of the simulated island in Zone D-2, turning that "trap zone" full of classical garden style into a barren volcanic lava field.

He thought that this would prevent the "cannibalistic garden" from appearing at its source.

However, when the exercise officially began...

In that forbidden zone where lava should have flowed, a huge green flower bud, brimming with life, stubbornly and slowly bloomed from the scalding magma...

Li Zhe even tried a "roundabout way to achieve his goal".

Since we can't directly interfere, we can influence it indirectly.

Using his absolute familiarity with the "script," he took the initiative to contact the captain of the "Wu Yue-Qinglong" team in the second loop, informing them in advance of the existence of the "cannibal garden" through "anonymous intelligence," and planning a "safe route" for them that could perfectly avoid the trap.

He had assumed that as long as the "Azure Dragon" team didn't trigger the trap, the [Seed of the World Tree] wouldn't appear.

However, when the "Azure Dragon" squad, following his guidance, passed through the D-2 area without incident, and even gained a significant advantage in the subsequent battle because they had avoided the risks in advance.

That damned World Tree Seed appeared on the battlefield in an even more outrageous way—

It actually fell straight down from the sky, landing squarely on the cockpit of the "Azure Dragon" squad leader, instantly killing him.

"..."

When Li Zhe saw this scene through Zero's real-time monitoring, he was completely speechless.

This is no longer a simple "rule".

This is simply destiny!
It's this damned cycle that's determined to bring out the Seed of the World Tree. No matter what efforts it makes, it can't change this predetermined "ending."

Tried again and again, failed again and again.

Li Zhe felt like Sisyphus from Greek mythology, who was forever pushing a boulder.

No matter how much they struggle, they cannot escape that endless fate, full of absurdity and futility.

His spirit is being worn away little by little by this endless cycle of reincarnation.

He even began to doubt whether his previous guess that "accumulated bugs caused the program to crash" was just wishful thinking.

Perhaps this cycle has no end?

Perhaps, I am destined to sink into eternal depravity within these short eleven days, until my mind completely breaks down and I become a true madman...

"Commander, would you like... to play a comedy routine to relieve some stress?"

Zero's voice echoed in my mind, tinged with a hint of awkward concern.

Li Zhe did not answer.

He simply sat quietly on the cold floor of the Starfish Island villa, his eyes filled with endless emptiness and bewilderment.

He gave up.

Completely, I gave up.

He stopped thinking about that damned cycle and stopped paying attention to the exercise that was full of falsehoods and repetitions.

He was like a doll whose spring had been completely cut, letting time take him back to that familiar yet utterly unfamiliar August 20th time and time again.

He began to wander like a true ghost in this world that was about to be reset. He watched Xu Lei still waving enthusiastically at him, and watched Yi Ze still casting a fighting spirit from afar.

Watching Zhu Xingtuan still delivering that opening speech he knew by heart on the podium...

Everything seemed so real, so vivid.

But it was precisely because of this that he felt even more lonely.

He was like a spectator trapped in a glass bottle.

Watching the play outside, whose ending was already known, being performed again and again.

He knows every character's lines and every plot twist.

But he was unable and powerless to change anything.

This feeling is more agonizing than any form of torture.

He began to indulge in alcohol, trying to use anesthesia to escape this cruel reality.

He got drunk in different cities and different bars.

Under the influence of alcohol...

completely useless!

My body is so strong that I can't get drunk at all; in fact, the more I drink, the more energetic I become!

He tried to forget that damned cycle, to forget his heavy mission.

They might as well linger in certain entertainment venues that are full of sensory stimulation.

Amidst deafening music and dazzling lights, he attempted to fill the emptiness in his heart with the most primal indulgence.

Seeing all this, feeling all this.

There was not a trace of emotion in his eyes.

He knew it was all fake.

Eleven days later, everything will be ruthlessly wiped clean.

Then, on the next August 20th, we'll start again.

Day after day, week after week.

Li Zhe felt his soul being gradually and completely devoured by this endless nothingness.

He even began to forget his original goal.

I forgot the stars, I forgot Kazuko.

He had forgotten the Platinum Star, the ship that carried all his hopes...

He was like a traveler lost in the fog of time, unable to find the way he came or see the direction of the future.

One can only wander endlessly in this eternal labyrinth, filled with repetition and absurdity...

until……

That day.

When Li Zhe woke up again on that familiar morning of August 20th.

He had lost count of how many times this cycle had occurred.

He simply sat up in bed out of habit, ready to begin yet another round of "vacation" filled with numbness and emptiness.

However, just as he was preparing to shut down all communications and completely isolate himself from the world.

A voice filled with surprise and excitement suddenly resounded throughout his maintenance hangar!
"Commander! We...are back!"

(End of this chapter)