TYMIMA Chapter 29

When they opened their eyes again, they had transformed—Zhan Pingchuan fully revived, while Lance lay weakly in his arms.

 

All the damage the Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl had inflicted on Zhan Pingchuan had completely disappeared. He now had enough energy to carry Lance and run a marathon.

 

Although Lance hadn’t been injured, he had angered the Outer God, causing a massive overflow of pheromones. Now he was frowning with closed eyes, enduring the pain in his gland.

 

Fortunately, thanks to this self-torture, Lance now fully understood that this Star University Challenge Cup competition was just a trick controlled by abilities. Because in a true time regression, the mental attack given to him by the Outer God couldn’t have been brought back with him.

 

And he was certain that in the next regression, these patterns would no longer exist.

 

Lance’s train of thought was interrupted by pain. He unconsciously moaned softly, but his entire body completely relaxed.

 

Hearing those small sounds of painful moaning, Zhan Pingchuan’s heart was almost twisted into a knot.

 

He released soothing pheromones without restraint. His strong S-level pheromones, sensing an Omega gland with an unusually high compatibility with himself, immediately became active.

 

In just an instant, the gentian bitter fragrance completely enveloped the star magnolia pheromones. The two scents mixed together, soothing the severely depleted gland.

 

“Why does it look so painful?”

 

Zhan Pingchuan frowned, wishing he could take this door-entry side effect upon himself.

 

Just now, when his life hung by a thread, he hadn’t had time to say anything, but he clearly knew the shock that surged within him when he saw Lance waiting outside the iron door, reaching out his hand to him.

 

That was the only reality he saw in that false timeline.

 

If he couldn’t come back, would Lance have kept waiting?

 

Or would he eventually have entered the door, regressed to before, and met a Zhan Pingchuan who knew nothing?

 

It was absurd, but just thinking that his previous self would be with Lance made Zhan Pingchuan jealous to the point of madness.

 

In the darkness, his gaze fell toward Lance’s gland, which was covered by reddish-brown hair. He wanted to touch it, even raised his hand, but still restrained himself.

 

He wanted to mark, wanted to brand this Omega with his own imprint, wanted him to carry his scent for life, wanted all other Alphas, even himself from other timelines, to stay far away from the person before him.

 

After a few seconds, Zhan Pingchuan secretly sighed in his heart. It was over. Even without the influence of fluid exchange, he still felt possessive toward Lance.

 

“Where… where are we!”

 

“We’re still in the underground city, at the time we just entered!”

 

“We bet right, time really moved forward, hahaha!”

 

“Good, everyone keep it up. Next time we’ll definitely be able to get out!”

 

The informed faction came to their senses and instantly fell into celebration. In despair, even a tiny hope could give people tremendous encouragement.

 

They didn’t care who was standing beside them. Like entering a nightclub for all-night revelry, they hugged and pressed cheeks, celebrating their survival.

 

Those from the death-bound faction who had successfully escaped were no less excited. No one understood better than they did the change in stance that could be catalyzed in a short time.

 

“Thank God! That scared the hell out of me just now.”

 

“Brother, did you just wake up too?”

 

“Yeah, brother, I was really stupid before. If I hadn’t been lucky enough to escape this time, I’d probably still be fighting for first place.”

 

“Same here, brother. Damn, just thinking about having my guts ripped out and emptied by that monster makes me want to vomit.”

 

Flap—

 

The sound of Pouncers swooping overhead rang out, and everyone knew that everything was beginning again.

 

Time counting down, with a few panicked screams, the oil lamps in the underground city lit up one by one, illuminating the entire passage.

 

Ashlen blinked, looking at Tu Mo in his arms.

 

Tu Mo’s lips twitched as he looked at his ‘brother’ Ashlen, whom he was tightly embracing.

 

Ashlen: “Ugh!”

 

Tu Mo: “Ugh!”

 

The two quickly let go of each other, their faces ashen, grinding their molars until they creaked, wishing they could fight to the death right then and there.

 

The familiar cannon fodder beside Ashlen looked at Ashlen, then at Tu Mo, wishing he could gouge out his own eyes on the spot: “Bro… Brother Lun, what’s this?”

 

Ashlen said darkly: “Shut up!”

 

The cannon fodder took a small step back, protecting his chest, worried about his chastity.

 

Damn, he hadn’t expected Ashlen to have such preferences—not liking sweet, cute little Omegas, but actually loving to hug and embrace Alphas.

 

He was the unfortunate one who had been hung up by Zhan Pingchuan’s silver threads and turned into a sieve by the Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl, so he had no idea what Ashlen had experienced.

 

The passage was filled with jubilation. The students who had survived the disaster and the watchful Pouncers together formed an extremely bizarre picture.

 

However, Liu Bo and Tang Li still looked worried.

 

Liu Bo cautiously asked: “Classmate Lance, did we not reach 363 just now?”

 

Otherwise, time couldn’t have regressed so little. According to their calculations, they should have been outside the underground city by now.

 

Although Tang Li didn’t know the specific data, he also felt that by the time he entered the door, many people had already escaped.

 

It seemed that this time, it didn’t follow the pattern.

 

But he didn’t dare say it, because it could potentially destroy everyone’s hope.

 

Lance looked up. He took several deep breaths to reduce his dizziness, then covered his gland and crawled out of Zhan Pingchuan’s arms.

 

“I forgot to count. Maybe we didn’t reach it, or maybe there is no pattern.”

 

What Tang Li didn’t dare to say, Lance said with ease.

 

While perfunctorily responding to Liu Bo, Lance also cast a meaningful glance at Zhan Pingchuan.

 

It wasn’t that they hadn’t reached 363; on the contrary, it was exactly 363.

 

His worry that Zhan Pingchuan might not return alive was simply a case of concern clouding judgment, because as the last digit in the number, Zhan Pingchuan had to and definitely would return.

 

But he wouldn’t mention any data now. The opponent was extremely cunning. Once what he had realized was also realized by Si Hongche, then the person secretly helping him would be in danger.

 

Now he just hoped that Zhan Pingchuan wouldn’t be misled by him. It wasn’t that there was no pattern; rather, it was precisely because there was a pattern that the opponent’s plan revealed its flaws.

 

Lance’s thoughts were good, but unfortunately, Zhan Pingchuan hadn’t noticed his hint at all.

 

Zhan Pingchuan was lost in thought.

 

How had Lance just crawled out of his arms? His gland was still uncomfortable, needing the intimate, detailed comfort of Alpha pheromones.

 

So disappointing, just like a scumbag who pulls up his pants and leaves.

 

But little classmate Lance looked good from this angle too. His eyelashes were curly, his amber eyes made moist and bright by the oil lamps, his small mouth opening and closing, fatally alluring. Who knew what nonsense he was saying.

 

Lance closed his mouth, noticing that Zhan Pingchuan’s gaze was still on his lips, direct, as if he had screened out all the surrounding chaos.

 

Lance: “……”

 

Forget it, he had to save his own idiot.

 

Liu Bo was shocked, and another wave of panic surged: “Then what do we do? Can we still get out? If this continues, aren’t we trapped in a time loop?”

 

Tang Li shrank back, forcing himself to comfort: “Don’t be so negative. Didn’t time still move forward this time? Maybe we just didn’t reach the number. Let’s try again. Perhaps if everyone enters that iron door, we can return to outside the underground city.”

 

Liu Bo now also believed it was because there weren’t enough people: “Right, I see Ashlen and Tu Mo entered the door this time too. As long as they don’t act as troublemakers, the rest will be easy.”

 

Soon, the plot came to the segment of slaughtering Pouncers.

 

“My God, what the hell is that thing! Is it a fish or a bird? How can there be such an ugly fish!”

 

“This time, let’s not trigger that monster. Let’s all go through the door directly.”

 

“It’s a Pouncer! My dad showed me before!”

 

“Everyone be careful. This time our faction has more people. Don’t let some idiot go trigger the monster.”

 

“Damn, that’s disgusting. Kill them quickly!”

 

“Those with high levels, keep an eye out. If anyone doesn’t watch where they’re going, knock them out and drag them away.”

 

The two factions each said their own things. The death-bound faction killed with gusto, completely unaware that the ones watching them ominously weren’t beasts, but their fellow students.

 

Soon, the Pouncers were killed and driven back, and the familiar cave entrance was revealed.

 

The cannon fodder rallied his spirits, standing eight zhang away from Ashlen and calling out from a distance: “Brother Lun is awesome! Holding [Pouncer Wings] for Brother Lun. Whether it’s a big boss or a small boss, they all belong to Brother Lun!”

 

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Ashlen became furious and spat out: “Go to hell!”

 

Cannon fodder: “?”

 

Someone immediately made a sarcastic remark: “Hehe, your Brother Lun has chickened out. Our Brother Mo is the real number one. When the big boss comes, you all better get out of the way. Brother Mo will start the raid!”

 

Tu Mo was so angry he kicked his teammate hard: “If you want to start it, you start it. I’m not starting anything!”

 

Teammate: “???”

 

Informed ones: “Now the passage is clear, everyone hurry through the door. This time we’ll definitely get out!”

 

The cannon fodder sneered: “Get out? Look at your cowardice. I won’t leave until the Frightening Bird is killed.”

 

As soon as he finished speaking, the informed ones around him could no longer restrain themselves. They rushed forward, pinned him down, and gave him a severe beating.

 

The cannon fodder wailed: “Brother Lun, save me!”

 

Ashlen rolled up his sleeves and cracked his knuckles: “Leave it to me!”

 

The cannon fodder was overjoyed: “Brother Lun, I knew you would save me!”

 

The next second, Ashlen pushed through the crowd, swung his arm, transformed it into a beast fist, and then gave the cannon fodder a wild heavy punch to the bridge of his nose. The cannon fodder was dumbfounded, his eyes rolled back, and he completely passed out.

 

Ashlen carried the cannon fodder like a corpse, running toward the iron door as if rushing to reincarnation: “Everyone follow me, hurry up. I don’t want to die yet!”

 

The remaining hundred-plus death-bound faction members were dumbfounded. Just as they were about to raise objections, they heard Tu Mo threatening from behind: “Whoever doesn’t follow, I’ll send you on your way first!”

 

Death-bound faction: “……”

 

Now no one dared to object anymore.

 

So more than a hundred death-bound faction members were escorted to the iron door entrance like prisoners. Along the way, they couldn’t help but ask people around them if the timing of this competition was unreasonable and if someone was trying to get everyone to withdraw.

 

Unfortunately, no one explained to them. Everyone had only one purpose—to enter the door.

 

Lance walked to the door with the crowd. This time, the Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl hadn’t appeared yet, and the underground city was unusually peaceful. Surrounded by oil lamps, the environment seemed to become hazy and gentle.

 

Before sinking into a trance, Lance’s fingertips lightly brushed across the back of Zhan Pingchuan’s hand: “Guess, what time will we go back to this time?”

 

His expression was bewildered and innocent, as if he truly didn’t know the answer to this question and was seeking a mental anchor from Zhan Pingchuan.

 

He hoped Zhan Pingchuan understood his hint.

 

Zhan Pingchuan already had an expectation in his heart, but as a hidden piece of Ghost Eye Guild and the killer of Boras, he couldn’t show any connection to this matter.

 

Moreover, he consistently disliked speaking seriously.

 

Zhan Pingchuan’s heart itched from Lance’s fingertip brush. Hearing the question, he couldn’t help but tease: “It would be best to go back more than ten years. Then I would go to Harbor Tan…” to see how cute my wife was as a child, preferably steal a kiss, maybe arrange a childhood betrothal or something.

 

He still had some face, so he didn’t say the flirtatious words in front of so many people.

 

Lance wasn’t sure if Zhan Pingchuan had understood the hint, and he was so annoyed he almost wanted to laugh.

 

Use the battery you stole to exchange for a plane ticket to find me? You’d probably get shoveled out by Chairman Lan with a broom.

 

Forget it, whether he understood or not, as long as Zhan Pingchuan didn’t leave his sight, it was enough.

 

The moment he stepped through the iron door, a white blur filled his vision, and dizziness instantly invaded. He couldn’t help but close his eyes and curl up.

 

This time seemed to last very long, with the dazzling whiteness not dispersing for a long time. Consciousness floated in a soft fluid, without support.

 

Until a ray of sunlight pierced through, the whiteness retreated like the parting of the Red Sea, and finally, there was a sense of solidity underfoot.

 

Lance suddenly opened his eyes.

 

The entire classroom was bright and clean. Tendrils of sunlight probed through the glass, gently caressing faces. Tiny dust particles floating in the air revealed their outlines in the light, spinning, dancing, and dispersing with each vivid breath.

 

It was the long-absent sun, a newborn hope.

 

Accompanied by the gentle morning sunlight, waves of wild joy erupted from the crowd—

 

“We’re back! We’re really back!”

 

“This is the classroom, right? Pinch me?”

 

“Great, hahaha, it really worked!”

 

“Quick, see what time it is now. No matter what, we must prevent this Challenge Cup from being held! We can’t repeat the same mistakes.”

 

……

 

As soon as these words were spoken, they received their due answer.

 

Raising a phone lying on the desk, it was playing the day’s news—

 

Star University Principal Yan Qili, facing the media and the public, with a solemn expression and a heavy tone, solemnly announced: “Since Dean Erdiff disappeared and was harmed on campus, and it was during the freshmen registration that night, the scene was chaotic. Therefore, Star University has specially invited the owl form Awakened and the chameleon form Awakened from the Blue Pivot Ability Inspection Team to participate in the investigation at our school, striving to restore all voice prints and images from that night through their abilities to catch the culprit!”

 

Consciousness gathered, spirit returned to its place, light pierced the mysterious and strange illusion. From then on, the light above and below was suddenly clear.

 

Lance smiled imperceptibly.

 

Actually, from beginning to end, there had been no time regression. It was just an illusion to make them firmly believe they could return to the past.

 

When he was young, he had heard a senior at High Tower Guild say that manipulating time was an insurmountable barrier for humans and underground cities. Because once this ability was mastered, it meant having unlimited chances to restart. Theoretically, one could control everyone’s fate.

 

This contradicted the balance reached between current humans and underground cities.

 

That senior believed that throughout history, the world had experienced countless upheavals, but it always tended toward balance. It had been a hundred years since the appearance of underground cities, and now was the moment of balance.

 

Unless another upheaval capable of overturning everything appeared again, those heaven-defying abilities would never manifest.

 

The existence of underground cities was meant for human death. It wouldn’t leave any escape route for anyone. So what allowed them to enter the Eye of the Living Spring again and again to change their fate wasn’t the underground city, but a person.

 

Similarly, beasts wouldn’t follow human rules, let alone a mount created by the Outer God.

 

How could it happen to leave exactly 121 people the first time, 242 people the second time, and 363 people the third time?

 

Moreover, these numbers could correspond with time.

 

All this indicated that the one creating the pattern was human. Someone was using these patterns, which only exist in the human world, to tell him that the regression they experienced and the Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl weren’t real.

 

They existed in a layered fantasy.

 

Oliver.

 

Lance naturally thought of this name.

 

After receiving that help request, he had suspected it was a plot by the Blue Pivot inspection team. Unable to find the White Pharaoh and Mad Clown, they used the pretext of seeking help to lure the Black Lantern Society deep into the restricted area, then catch them all at once.

 

Unsurprisingly, the Black Lantern Society’s investigation into Oliver was obstructed. All his information and past experiences were tightly sealed by Blue Pivot. All that was known externally was that he was a student who graduated from Star University eighteen years ago at the age of just eighteen, then joined Blue Pivot’s Second District, with no further news.

 

This perfectly matched Blue Pivot’s path for training special agents, making Lance even more suspicious that it was a trap.

 

But today, he understood it wasn’t a trap.

 

The Black Lantern Society had no insider in the restricted area. No one would risk their life to hint to Black Lantern Society members that they were in the midst of a conspiracy.

 

Unless that person was eagerly hoping for the Black Lantern Society to fulfill the contract and kill him.

 

Lance immediately looked at Zhan Pingchuan, who was now silent, his gaze slightly lowered, lost in thought.

 

Lance didn’t dare guess whether he had seen through the illusion, because compared to himself, Zhan Pingchuan lacked crucial information—

 

That even within the solid block of Blue Pivot, there could be a traitor, and this traitor was doing his utmost to hint to the killer not to be fooled.

 

After a long while, Zhan Pingchuan still showed no reaction. It was as if the sunlight hadn’t reached him, his figure completely standing in the shadows, his eyes dark and inscrutable.

 

Lance frowned.

 

Was he thinking about how to jump onto the gymnasium roof later and move around flamboyantly?

 

Forget it, whether he saw through it or not, just treat him as an idiot!

 

Lance tugged at Zhan Pingchuan’s sleeve. Seeing him instinctively look up, Lance tilted his head to expose his gland, poked it, and indicated with an aggrieved, innocent look: “Here, it’s swollen.”

 

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 (advanced chapters available on kofi)