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墨書 Inktalez
I returned to the control tower, the lingering scent of rust and blood clinging to me.
“Meng Gong?”
The technician on duty was taken aback by my disheveled appearance.
“Immediately trace this signal source!”
I slammed the communicator I had snatched from “Orion” onto the console. On the screen, the code for “Vega” and the signal pointing towards the interior of the tower continued to blink.
“Investigate any internal personnel associated with this signal! Especially… Li Qiang!”
My voice was hoarse from urgency, my gaze fixed intently on the main control screen.
Time: 1:58 AM.
I had to root out the mole before they noticed!
The technician's fingers flew over the keyboard as he retrieved internal communication records and personnel locations.
“Meng Gong, this ‘Vega’ signal… has very high-level permissions, like… some sort of encrypted command channel.”
“Cross-referencing… There are no direct communication records with Li Qiang, but… wait!”
His movements suddenly halted, his eyes widening as he stared at the screen.
“This signal source once sent an unresolvable encrypted data stream to the cockpit of flight KUN9371!”
“There’s only one minute left…”
Someone beside me whispered softly.
"What does one minute mean?"
I instinctively glanced at the electronic clock on the wall.
1:59:55.
The time was about to leap to two o'clock in the morning.
At the very moment the second hand pointed to twelve—
Zzzz—!
A piercing electric noise suddenly erupted from all communication channels!
The radar screen flickered violently, and countless flight indicators were instantly covered by a mass of static snow!
The control panel's indicator lights flashed wildly, emitting sharp alarm sounds!
"What’s happening?!" "The radar is down!" "Communication is cut off!"
The control room was thrown into chaos in an instant!
A familiar, heart-pounding hum resonated deeply, exactly like the feeling when the space-time anomaly occurred in the warehouse!
"Report! The meteorological radar has detected... a severe energy reaction in the Eastern Mountain Area... coordinates..."
The technician's trembling voice came through.
The coordinates displayed on the screen pointed directly to the abandoned industrial area I had just left!
At that moment—
Beep... Beep...
A faint yet familiar signal pierced through my consciousness unexpectedly.
It’s Meng Xiao!
It’s the signal from the tiny transmitter behind her ear!
Intermittent, mixed with the harsh sound of metal tearing and indistinct background noise!
“Dad... Help...”
The voice abruptly cut off!
The signal was completely lost!
“Meng Xiao!!!”
I sprang up from my chair, reaching out toward the empty screen, my nails nearly scratching the display!
She’s still alive!
She’s calling for help!
The signal came from the plane!
They didn’t kill her right away!
Why?!
Could she also be a "target" of Chronos? What do they want to "obtain" from her?
Time... That's right, time!
My mind raced wildly.
Chronos is collecting energy from specific moments in time... the energy from the instant of the disaster...
I have to save her!
I turned and rushed out of the control room.
However—
Zzzz—!
The piercing sound of electric current erupted again!
The scene before me twisted and flickered like a television with poor reception!
The radar screen was once more covered in static!
The alarm lights on the console flashed frantically!
A deep, low hum filled the air...
Wait!
This scene... why does it feel so familiar?
I suddenly glanced at the electronic clock on the wall.
The hands... pointed to exactly two o'clock in the morning!
Time... has turned back?
No! It can't be!
"What’s going on?!" "The radar is malfunctioning!" "Communication is down!"
Panic-stricken shouts from my colleagues echoed around me, identical to just moments ago!
I stood frozen, unable to believe what was happening before my eyes.
Every movement, every cry was exactly the same as before!
The weather radar reported an energy response from the Eastern Mountain Area.
Then...
Beep... beep...
Meng Xiao's faint distress signal rang out again, mixed with the sound of tearing metal.
"Dad... help..."
Am I... trapped in a loop?
A time loop?!
I instinctively reached for the back of my neck, where the sensor connected to the Meng Xiao transmitter was located, and felt a faint sting.
Thirteen minutes!
The number suddenly flashed in my mind!
It was mentioned in the Chronos files! Thirteen minutes!
Could this loop be thirteen minutes long?!
From the radar anomaly at two o'clock in the morning to the Meng Xiao sending out a distress signal... it was exactly around thirteen minutes!
I am stuck in this thirteen-minute span!
Reliving the plane crash over and over again, hearing my daughter's final cries for help repeatedly!
Why is this happening?!
Is it because I came into contact with that Orion communicator? Or did the temporal anomaly in the warehouse affect me?
No... now is not the time to dwell on the reasons!
I must break this loop!
Otherwise, I will be trapped here forever, helplessly watching Meng Xiao over and over again...
Zzz—!
The sound of electricity crackled for the third time.
It was two in the morning.
The cycle began anew.
This time, I didn’t lose control like before.
I forced myself to calm down.
The cycle... meant everything would reset.
But it also meant I had infinite chances!
As long as I could find that crucial "variable," the point that could break the cycle!
I stared intently at the radar screen, observing everyone in the control room, every detail.
"What’s happening?!" "The radar is malfunctioning!" "Communication is down!"
Chaos reigned once again.
But this time, I noticed that the young technician beside me, in his panic, had knocked a pen to the floor.
In the last two cycles, he didn't drop the pen!
This is a change!
Though insignificant, it is indeed a change!
My heart raced!
This time, I didn’t look away; instead, I focused intently on the pen that had fallen to the ground.
When the radar screen returned to normal, the technician didn’t immediately turn his attention to the weather radar like he had in the previous two instances. Instead, he instinctively bent down to pick up the pen.
Because of this action, his report of the energy response in the Eastern Mountain Area was delayed by half a second compared to the previous two times!
Half a second!
A tiny delay!
But it proved that the cycle was not entirely unchangeable!
Beep... Beep...
Meng Xiao's distress signal arrived as expected.
“Dad... help...”
My heart felt like it was being pierced by needles, but I clenched my fists tightly.
There is still a chance!
I must find more variables like this!
I need to take notes!
Zzz—!
The fourth loop.
Two in the morning.
I ignored the chaos around me and rushed to my workstation, grabbing a notebook and a pen.
From now on, I will document every detail of each loop!
The pen dropped by that technician.
The shape of condensation on another colleague's coffee cup.
The frequency of static on the communication channel at a certain moment.
Even... the rhythm of my own heartbeat!
Despair crashed against my sanity like waves, and each time I heard Meng Xiao's cries for help, it felt like a piece of flesh was being carved from my heart.
But I cannot fall!
For Meng Xiao, I must hold on!
I was like an unyielding machine, observing, recording, and analyzing over and over again.
The fifth cycle...
The sixth cycle...
The seventh cycle...
The memo was filled with dense symbols and data.
I discovered some subtle patterns.
Each cycle was not entirely the same; there were always random, minute changes.
These changes were like the occasional splashes of waves in the river of time.
What I needed to do was seize one of those splashes, to unleash a tremendous wave that would break through this damned cycle dam!
The twelfth cycle.
I found an even more crucial variable.
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