**Chapter 241: The Past, Present, and Future**
Is that… my notebook?
Why is it here?
In the “heart” of the Snake of Time…
Awakening, Shen Baiwei saw the notebook wrapped under the heart of the Snake of Time, her chest suddenly pounding like it had been struck by a heavy hammer.
A thick fog of confusion descended, enveloping her heart.
Indeed, her little notebook—her only “friend” and confidant over nearly the past decade—had been her mental support in surviving countless inhumane experiments at the Tethys Laboratory. It was the most important thing to her.
But then again, it was merely a notebook of decent craftsmanship, with a price tag not exceeding fifty bucks.
Even if influenced by her spirit patterns, it had only barely reached the D-level standard as a spirit energy item, with nothing particularly noteworthy.
Yet, this ordinary notebook had been specially sealed in the critical position of the “heart” by the Snake of Time’s powers, the strongest creation orchestrated by the Tethys Laboratory’s holy plan Phase Three. It was truly puzzling.
What on earth could a little notebook hold that it valued so much? Shen Baiwei wondered, quickly searching her mind for memories related to the notebook.
…
“The free activity zone of the laboratory had a beautiful big bird appear; I don’t know what kind it is. I successfully lured it over with leftover bread from lunch and plucked three of its tail feathers.”
What should I do with these beautiful feathers?
…
“Today, after participating in Doctor 013’s power rejection test, I was rewarded with a creamy hazelnut crumble cake that was so delicious I nearly bit my tongue.”
But…
The cake in my memory didn’t seem that delicious; was it because I hadn’t had it in so long?
…
“Doctor 006 said today would be the last experiment. After I’m successful, I can leave this cursed place and complete the tasks assigned by the Elders’ Council. That counts as gaining some degree of freedom, right?”
Limited freedom…
Isn’t that the price of asking them to help me cure the Nightfall Syndrome?
…
“That man is secretly spying on Calamity, while I’m spying on him. This relationship feels a bit delicate, a bit like Bian Zhilin wrote in ‘Excerpt’… Speaking of which, this Calamity looks somewhat scary and doesn’t seem like a good person. I feel the need to create a separate file for her!”
…
Memories of the notebook are about 70% trivial daily life and emotional venting doodles, the remaining 30% consist of detailed information about spirit ability users and urban legends that one should be wary of; it doesn’t seem strange.
However, just as Shen Baiwei continued to recall memories of the notebook, trying to discern the reason behind the Snake of Time sealing it in the “heart,” a sudden, sharp pain and a burning sensation erupted from deep within her brain.
It felt as if a red-hot steel nail was piercing from the inside out of her head.
Accompanied by unbearable pain, as if a hallucination was forming, voices suddenly rang in Shen Baiwei’s ears.
“How could this be… It was clearly destroyed, yet it has reappeared… Risk of losing control…”
“Urban legend… symbiosis… must be tightly controlled… a perfect tool…”
“Activate plan three… highest level interference… change the weight of power composition.”
“…”
The voices in her ears were intermittent and murky, coming from more than one source, both old and young, male and female.
Their tones were somewhat tense, indicating they were facing something tricky. Beneath the tension, however, was a deep indifference, as though they were discussing not a living being, but a machine that could have its parts replaced at will to ensure normal operation.
Hearing such voices, Shen Baiwei did not understand the fragmented content, but her heart raced with fear, spiking to a level beyond measure in an instant.
She felt she should have heard those dialogues somewhere before, followed by something very terrifying, yet she couldn’t remember why she had forgotten.
However, although that horrific event had not remained in her memory, it had left an indelible mark on her body and soul.
She tried to recall that memory, but was met with warnings of danger from every inch of her flesh and every single cell.
It seemed to be reminding her that it was a taboo… an absolute taboo that must not be recalled or mentioned!
“…”
Was it so terrifying and painful that her body’s self-protection mechanism engaged in selective amnesia, or had those guys at the Tethys Laboratory wiped her memories away?
Both possibilities existed. Whether it was an experiment more terrifying than d*ath or a technology to forcibly erase memories, the Tethys Laboratory possessed the capability…
But what was their purpose in doing so?
The Tethys Laboratory had always pursued high efficiency and high profits, categorically not indulging in meaningless experimental trials…
Did my escape from that cursed place have anything to do with that forgotten experience? Shen Baiwei pondered.
She had always felt that her escape from the Tethys Laboratory and betrayal of the Elders’ Council were too simple. After all, there were undoubtedly other experimental subjects with similar experiences and thoughts, but the Elders’ Council always found a way to make them give up.
No experimental subject had ever successfully escaped from the Tethys Laboratory, except her…
Before this, Shen Baiwei attributed her success to her persistence and a bit of luck, but now she suspected there was some deeper reason.
Suddenly, a wet, sticky sound emerged, like a mass of flesh writhing violently.
Shen Baiwei heard the sound, interrupting her train of thought.
Looking toward the source of the sound, her pupils shook violently.
She saw the flesh of the heart of the Snake of Time, covering the notebook, along with densely packed dark, chaotic lines, inexplicably writhing violently, gathering as if a deformed, twisted mouth was trying to swallow the notebook.
As if sensing a threat, the notebook shook violently, its pure white glow shimmering, emitting a low humming.
Pain, wails, fear… a multitude of emotions suddenly surged within Shen Baiwei’s chest, strong yet surreal, drifting like smoke, making it hard for her to distinguish whether they were her own emotions or those transmitted to her by the notebook through a subtle connection.
Or perhaps… both?
But that was not important! Shen Baiwei thought, a glint of resolve flashing in her eyes as she stepped forward, running toward it.
In that moment, she had only one thought in her mind—this is my most important thing, and no one or urban legend can take it from me!
Although the notebook likely began as something trivial resembling a limitless prank.
It had long since become more than just an ordinary notebook for Shen Baiwei.
It accompanied and supported her through the most difficult, painful times; the contents that seemed worthless to others were markings proving her existence in this world, and it was the beautiful eye that helped her see through the dark shadows shrouding her life…
…
Gradually moving forward, her heart thudded like a drum.
When Shen Baiwei awoke, she was less than five meters from the notebook.
However, crossing that short distance was more arduous than any path she had ever taken.
The spirit energy from the Snake of Time surged like a tsunami, continually battering her body.
It was as if she was a crumpled piece of paper being pressed forcefully, her bones producing a spine-chilling lament as her body twisted and mangled.
The black lines covering the outside of the notebook, symbolizing punishment, stirred restlessly, producing a sharp noise that felt like it was about to shatter her consciousness.
As Shen Baiwei drew closer to the notebook, the disorganized black lines swept over her body. In that moment, pain seeped deep into her bones, numerous tiny wounds emerged on her skin, and dense beads of crimson bl**d appeared.
“Thud—Thud—Thud—!”
The muffled sounds of flesh being destroyed persisted.
Under the attack of those black lines, in less than two or three breaths, her entire arm reaching for the notebook was reduced to a segment stained red with bl**d.
And besides the physical pain, those black lines also brought deeper harm, corrupting spirit energy that flowed through the vicious wounds into her body, spreading throughout her limbs and bones.
Aging suddenly descended upon her.
Her fair skin visibly developed wrinkles and discoloration; calcium flowed from her bones, rendering them fragile; organ failure brought dull pains throughout her body and a strong sense of weakness, causing dizziness and drowsiness…
For a moment, Shen Baiwei truly believed she would perish in pain, aging away.
Yet, at that moment, a hand breached her blurred vision.
It was a pale hand, covered in corpse spots, exuding the stench of decay.
That was… the hand of a “Shen Baiwei” already consumed by the Snake of Time.
Seeing that hand, Shen Baiwei’s heart tightened; she instinctively felt that this “Shen Baiwei,” already devoured, was sent by the Snake of Time to stop her. However, what happened next exceeded her expectations.
The decaying body, resembling a zombie, of “Shen Baiwei” rushed toward the small notebook that was about to be swallowed by the Snake of Time’s “heart,” as if trying to snatch it away, then, in an instant, turned to dust and disintegrated.
As that “Shen Baiwei” fell apart, the raging spirit energy stirred by the Snake of Time and the chaotic black lines seemed to experience a slight obstruction, briefly stalling.
Just as Shen Baiwei was processing what had occurred, a second “Shen Baiwei,” comprised only of a bony frame dripping with black slime, charged forward, followed by the third, fourth, fifth…
Seconds later, a shocking and unbelievable scene unfolded before Shen Baiwei’s eyes.
All the “Shen Baiwei” who had been devoured by the powers of the Snake of Time gathered in front of the “heart,” selflessly extending their hands toward the small notebook that was about to be consumed.
The past of Shen Baiwei, consumed by the powers of the Snake of Time, retaliated in that instant under the guidance of her strong will.
Figures scattered throughout time, exhibiting the same unwillingness, emerged and overlapped.
Shen Baiwei stood behind those figures, witnessing it all, inexplicably feeling as though she was glimpsing her past struggles against the powers of the Snake of Time.
They might have already been consumed by the powers of the Snake of Time and lost their identities, but Luxianbei’s call seemed to awaken them in that instant, recalling the struggles they had made.
Shen Baiwei was sure they also heard Luxianbei’s call because she felt… she felt the same strong resonance, occurring not once but multiple times, echoing in her ears, lingering with a faint yet indelible mark.
It was a call that had traversed the entirety of “Shen Baiwei’s” life from past to present, invigorating every “Shen Baiwei” hovering on the brink of life and d*ath!
Though uncertain why this occurred, Shen Baiwei thought that it was the existence of those marks that incited this most grand rebellion since the powers of the Snake of Time had coalesced.
And now, as all the past had vanished, it was finally her turn to take the stage.
At the moment those figures were wholly shattered and turned to dust beneath the terrifying power engulfing the notebook, a whisper describing the power rang in her ears.
“The Tail-Eater is born into the world, devouring yesterday, without beginning or end, the start is the end, immersed within, sacrificing the body to regain the body, like a dream, like a nightmare…”
After a brief pause, a segment of power description that Shen Baiwei had never heard before sounded.
“Staying is moving forward, the pen of records, the eye of witness…”
With the protection of countless past “selves,” she finally stepped forward, taking the most arduous and final step, enduring the sudden pain that felt as if it would completely destroy her. She grabbed a corner of the notebook, pulling it back with all her might and hugging it tightly, as though grasping her past, present, and future…
In that moment, a joy of breaking the shackles and freeing herself surged within her heart.
Just as she was about to exit the realm of consciousness, Shen Baiwei vaguely saw the scene of the collapse of the Tethys Laboratory, the hideous snake struggling amidst the burning ruins, with papers scattered like snowflakes, gradually covering its body and merging into it, replacing each of its scales…
————
When Shen Baiwei awoke from her unconsciousness, she hadn’t even opened her eyes before hearing the sounds of sorrow rising and falling.
Opening her eyes, getting to her feet, and following the source of the sounds through the scattered, already injured tribal warriors, she saw the figure of Calamity.
Silver-white hair flowed in the wind, adorned in a luxurious azure dress, holding a crimson long kn*fe, standing upon a twisted pile of truck wreckage and carcasses, radiating ominous fluctuations of spirit energy that constantly surged, seeming to be the origin of all disaster and chaos.
Calamity stood there quietly, motionless, seemingly shedding all defenses, yet each time a tribal warrior raised their weapons and attempted to attack her, it proved time and again that any resistance against such an existence was futile.
Fierce flames ignited from deep within their chests, instantly boiling their bl**d, spreading like uncontrollable war or disaster, as the searing bl**d surged through every corner of their bodies, swiftly draining them of life.
What was inconceivable was that, despite suffering immense pain before their demise, they closed their eyes peacefully at the moment of falling, an eerie smile gracing their lips, as if experiencing a beautiful illusion.
“…”
This state of Calamity was absolutely abnormal!
Was the power out of control?
Just like the powers of the Snake of Time becoming agitated under the guidance of that unseen force.
Shen Baiwei observed Luxianbei for a moment and made a preliminary judgment on her state.
But how could she help her?
If she approached carelessly now, wouldn’t she get killed?
With a solemn expression fixed on Luxianbei, she pondered for a moment, as if suddenly recalling something, hastily pulling out her precious little notebook from her bosom, quickly flipping to the page where she had sketched the portrait of Calamity not long ago, and then writing a line of small characters.
“Wake up, Calamity!”
By writing such words in the notebook, Shen Baiwei sent a call to Luxianbei, just like how Luxianbei had awakened her moments ago.
Though she couldn’t affect Luxianbei’s distant past, she could influence every moment from the completion of the portrait up to now using the records in the notebook as a medium!
This was the ability she gained after breaking free from the constraints of the powers of the Snake of Time.
As a recorder and witness, she could not destroy the past in an extreme manner like the Snake of Time consumed, yet under the premise of not affecting the established facts of the past, she could make slight modifications in details to achieve the effect of changing the present…
Just like those historians who record history with their chronicle writing style.
————
“Wake up, Calamity!”
When Luxianbei heard such a voice ringing in her ears, she was momentarily stunned.
“…”
Who is this? Proxy Player Sister? Wait, no! This voice doesn’t sound like Proxy Player Sister, it sounds… like Shen Baiwei?
How strange! Why am I hearing her call at such a time?
Could it be that my relationship with her has unknowingly become so close that, on the verge of d*ath, she is the first person I think of? Impossible! Luxianbei thought.
Just as she was puzzled, she noticed that the two powers causing her to “freeze” were in a state of imbalance.
Her body of condensed consciousness was slowly retreating.
The speed was increasing, and the objects in her line of sight began to transform into a chaotic swirl of lights.
Then.
In her dazed state, Luxianbei felt a faint power that did not belong to Shen Baiwei, nor was it from the little urban legends of Huacheng, as well as anyone she was familiar with, quietly descending upon her.
As that unfamiliar power arrived, the chaotic lights before her suddenly opened up, as if a curtain had been drawn back, and in a moment that could only be described as a flash of lightning, she glimpsed a series of figures.
Those figures emitted the aura of the world-destroying forces she had sensed before when she was beckoned forward, yet they lacked that overwhelming oppressive presence and were not shrouded in inscrutable shadows; instead, they appeared vibrant and alive.
It felt like passing by a stranger on the street.
Though unfamiliar with each other, there was a shared sense of life, each with their own diverse existence, whether good or bad, tragic or joyful.
Most of those figures were unknown to Luxianbei, yet familiar silhouettes flickered past, stirring her heart.
Black Peony, Big Boss, and the Shaman Queen, whose terrifying dual-colored eyes she had only caught a distant glance of but stayed firmly etched in her memory…
