Chapter 63: The Dialectic Game |
Qi Si did a rough count and found eight bodies. They had died in various ways, but their faces were all more or less the same, and each wore a white shirt identical to his.
He quickly spotted a flaw in the design. "If these bodies are my clones from before, then after three whole years, the earliest one should have already decomposed. Not only that, but many of the premises of this 'Clone Research Institute' just don't hold up."
Once the most obvious crack appeared, a flood of smaller inconsistencies he had subconsciously ignored came rushing to the surface.
First, the researchers' attitudes were completely illogical.
In any social group, there's a dynamic balance between "wolves" and "sheep." If some people are idle, others will inevitably be proactive. It's impossible for everyone to be cut from the same cloth, operating with the exact same mindset and behavior.
And in an institution like a research institute, positions are rotated, and staff are constantly being moved or let go. The probability of the same post always being filled by a slacker is extremely low.
Besides, even if the entire world had grown weary of work, wouldn't a novel black technology like "cloning" spark at least a little interest?
Second, the institute was too quiet, so quiet it felt fake.
Since entering the instance, Qi Si hadn't heard a single word spoken that wasn't part of a necessary exchange.
Finally, Jin Yusheng's attitude was far too rational.
To save time, he had directly recounted the events of the past three years. When Qi Si provoked him, he accepted his words with little question. Later, he accepted the olive branch Qi Si extended without a moment's hesitation.
Everything had been far too convenient. At first glance, it seemed Qi Si had expertly manipulated the other man's mindset, but upon reflection, it felt more like a carefully laid trap.
Measuring relationships based on personal gain was something Qi Si would do. But in this world, people like him were, after all, a minority...
"So I really am still inside the instance," Qi Si murmured, covering his face as a low chuckle escaped him.
Though he was skilled at manipulating people, he had never been able to understand human emotions. Positive qualities that others lauded—trust, kindness, sacrifice, friendship—were, in his eyes, merely variables to be calculated.
This was, in its own way, a form of arrogance, and the Weird Game had undoubtedly exploited it, guiding him to continue on his self-assured path.
And he had only just now realized it.
"A childish question-and-answer game, a game-theory model stripped of all interference, events unfolding exactly according to my plan... it's all so obviously a theoretical exercise designed to lead to a specific answer. And yet, out of sheer mental laziness, I never once felt a flicker of doubt."
"This instance is obsessed with rationality. Every time I noticed something suspicious, someone would appear to offer a subtle explanation. But the problem is, reality itself is absurd and comical; things never align so perfectly."
Qi Si replayed the events of the instance in his mind, not forgetting to mock himself from beginning to end.
He had always considered himself unlucky, but in this instance, if he hadn't happened to be moving about at night and seen the bloody handprints, he might not have discovered the truth so soon. He could have been kept in the dark until the very end.
Looked at that way, perhaps his luck wasn't as terrible as he'd imagined.
"Using a series of pseudo-concepts to lead me into a pre-designed logic, then using an acquaintance from my life to disrupt my reasoning... I was almost completely fooled. Should I say that evil god has an impressive aesthetic when it comes to instance design?"
The system interface still hadn't appeared, but Qi Si guessed the main mission was likely to walk to the end of the dim corridor before him.
Only a day had passed in the instance, and there were many places he hadn't searched. Qi Si couldn't figure out how a high-tech research institute could be connected to such a mysterious, unnerving corridor.
He needed more clues.
"If I clear the instance like this, the completion rating will probably be very low. There should be enough time left to search this place and raise it, right?" Qi Si calculated, feeling that if he stumbled through to the end again, the evil god probably wouldn't be as benevolent as it was in the *Flesh Eating* instance and manually adjust his evaluation.
For a perfectionist, a rating below S was absolute torture.
To spare himself the future agony of regret, Qi Si decisively took a few steps back, exiting the mist-filled corridor.
He made his way toward the director's office, picking the locks of the rooms he passed and giving each a quick search.
The layout of these rooms was identical to the observation room—spotless white walls with a single, empty patient bed in the center.
Every room was so clean it looked as if it had already been picked bare by a thief; there wasn't so much as a scrap of metal to be found.
The uninvited guest, who had been prepared to scavenge anything of value, came up empty-handed. Dejected, Qi Si stopped in front of the director's office and expertly picked the lock.
Since no one was around, he flipped on the lights and, under their stark white glare, went straight for the desk and pulled open a drawer.
It was completely empty.
Even Qi Si was stunned into silence for a full ten seconds.
He desperately wanted to ask the designer: "Do you even know how to make a game? Where are the clues? How can a drawer not have any clues?"
As things unfolded, Qi Si was starting to get the picture.
The research institute was likely just the first layer of this instance. Further searching would be fruitless. More clues probably awaited him in a new area.
He returned once more to the corridor of corpses and plunged into the fog.
This time, he slowed his pace, bending down to examine the cuffs of each body, one by one.
On every sleeve, a large number "9" was written in red ink, identical to the one on his own cuff. Qi Si walked on, checking the sleeves of the bodies strewn across the floor, each "9" a shining, dazzling symbol.
All the bodies were "Number 9"!
A hoarse, deep voice sounded from above:
[Having come this far, you must have figured everything out.]
[Countless different choices lead to countless endings, yet across different worldlines, your choices are always more or less the same.]
[The yous of myriad parallel universes may have deviated from the original path, but the same affliction always guides you to the same node.]
[You entered the Weird Game and became trapped here, re-enacting the same fatal ending, over and over again.]
The bleak words radiated pessimism, sounding like both a curse and a prophecy of his final doom.
A sudden understanding dawned on Qi Si. He shook his head with a theatrical sigh. "So all the information I was given before was false. It made me believe I was special, letting me walk this far on a cloud of self-importance."
"In reality, I'm just an insignificant link in an endless cycle, a single slice of a parallel universe, no different from the eight who came before me—"
"We are all 'me.' We are all Qi Si."
Qi Si thought of the bloody handprints on the institute's walls, alternating as they guided him forward.
He was, without a doubt, a selfish person. He wouldn't concede even a sliver of advantage, not even to himself. But when faced with an inescapable dead end, he just might leave a clue behind, allowing another individual who shared his memories a chance at survival.
"As I see it, what defines me as 'me' are my memories and behavioral patterns. A being that possesses all my memories and would make the same choices in the same situations can be considered 'me,' regardless of their appearance."
"In a struggle for survival, I would show myself no mercy. But if forced to accept death, I would be willing to let an entity that inherits my will continue to exist in this world, to commit the crimes and bring about the disasters I desired."
[Will you continue forward?]
[Now, you have one last chance to choose: will you leave the Weird Game?]
[Leave now, and you will be granted a new life, far from all that is weird and terrifying.]
The voice from above was persuasive, carrying a faint trace of familiarity.
The clues clicked into place. Qi Si suddenly understood, and the corners of his lips curved into a slight smile.
"So there's still a chance for regret. Is this some kind of special treatment for me?" He touched his own face, his smile radiant. "A pity I have no desire to regret anything."
The third instance was a crucible, designed to screen players from every angle and eliminate those unsuited for the Weird Game.
Those with weak minds, those who gave up halfway—their bones would surely become nourishment for the weird.
"I never had any other choice," Qi Si said, his smile fading as he gazed at the bodies that paved the path ahead.
He walked forward, stepping over the corpses of his "self."
"Leave the Weird Game? And then what? Wait for my illness to worsen until I die in obscurity? Or, if I'm lucky, survive as a creature of pure instinct, unable to even feed and clean myself?"
"Knowing the outcome and simply waiting for the end to arrive... that would be an absolutely agonizing and boring existence. I'd rather die in this game. At least I can experience some excitement, some fun, and some anticipation before the end."
"You said that the me's of myriad parallel universes all made the same choice at this node... In that case, I too will choose to trust my own judgment."
Qi Si gestured casually ahead, his gaze sweeping over the corpses. "You see? It's a recurrence relation. The distance 'I' walked before dying gets longer each time."
"Doesn't that mean if I just keep following this path, eventually, a 'me' from some parallel universe will reach the end?"
Qi Si stepped over the last body. He bent down slowly, slipped two long fingers into the corpse's pocket, and pulled out a key.
He pocketed the key and suddenly lifted his gaze.
Through the thick fog ahead, a bronze door carved with bizarre markings loomed, barely visible.
Seeing the lock on the door, which was a clear match for the key in his hand, Qi Si's eyes crinkled into a smile. "Excellent. It seems the 'me' of this parallel universe is lucky enough to reach the end."
He stood by the door for a moment, savoring the events of the instance. With a mixture of satisfaction and reluctance, he inserted the key into the lock and turned it to the right with a sharp *click*.
The door swung open, revealing a swirling black fog within. Wisps of it coiled and drifted, making it impossible to see the layout beyond.
Qi Si knew better than to let his guard down before the very end. He paused outside the doorway, then grabbed the corpse at his feet and hurled it inside.
The body landed with a heavy thud, kicking up a cloud of dust. Nothing else happened.
No ambush, no danger. It was unnervingly calm.
Qi Si glanced back at the seven remaining bodies and stroked his chin, thinking, *Should I toss a few more in, just to be sure?*
Before he could lift a second corpse, a voice called out from within the doorway. "Stop wasting time. Come in."
It was his own voice.