Chapter 181: Despicable Me (6)
Chapter 181: Despicable Me (6)
"Don't act so unconcerned", La Bit snapped at the puppet. "But... you're right. I won't let this traveler kill you." Turning to Feng Bu Jue, it ordered, "You, go capture him first."
"Capture 'him'?" Feng Bu Jue glanced at the puppet, repeating skeptically, "Him?"
"At the 41st minute", La Bit explained, pointing at the fourth corridor, "I already gave you my potion. That's also when you captured him and came from that direction."
【Current task has been updated, main quest updated】
As the system prompt rang out, Feng Bu Jue opened his game menu. The original quest 【Retrieve Chemical Potion (0/4)】 now had a sub-task: 【Capture the puppet Bi Li (Billy) in the Fourth Corridor and bring him to La Bit (rabbit) in exchange for a Chemical Potion.】
Feng Bu Jue tilted his head back, taking a deep breath. "I have a theory. If I now return, capture him, and hand him over to you at the 41st minute... then refuse the potion", he paused, eyes narrowing, "would this moment's events change?"
"You mean if you did that, the potion in my possession now would still exist?" La Bit countered.
"Exactly", Feng Bu Jue nodded.
"But you already took it." La Bit locked eyes with him. "You understand, right?"
Feng Bu Jue froze for several seconds. "So you're saying..."
"Because you took it at that time", La Bit explained, "you're here questioning me now. Let me lay out the paradox: If you hadn't taken it, I would've given this potion to your past self. But even then, you'd still need to capture Bi Li. Without that capture, my Cell here would remain empty, and I wouldn't give you the potion. It's a loop."
Feng Bu Jue interjected, "If I captured him as usual and returned to the 41st minute, two possibilities emerge. First, if I take the potion, my previous self's existence gets erased."
"Or if you refuse it..." La Bit raised a paw, "the 'you' currently discussing this with me would never exist."
"Consider carefully", La Bit warned, extending a clawed hand. "Choose the wrong path and create a space-time paradox..."
"The game ends in failure", Feng Bu Jue muttered, glancing at the puppet. "I really want to talk to you about life, you bastard."
"Heh heh..." Bi Li chuckled darkly. "How do you know we haven't already?"
Pacing before the corridors, Feng Bu Jue mused, "So I brought him from the Fourth Corridor? Where are the other three potions besides yours?"
"This potion originally belonged to Ao Er Deng." La Bit waved its hand, Ao Er Deng vanishing instantly. "Of the four prisoners, he's the most cooperative."
"Four prisoners?" Feng Bu Jue's gaze shifted to the four Cells.
La Bit anticipated the question. "These Cells once held four prisoners. The previous warden, Sa Mo Di Er, whom I'm sure you've heard of, considered himself a prisoner too. One day he opened all four gates, freed them, and defected." It settled back into its seat, sealing Bi Li's Cell in darkness. "My master assigned me here. Ao Er Deng poses no threat—he simply enjoys darkness and ghost stories. I consider him an exemplary prisoner, hence my assistant."
"A collaborator, huh?" Feng Bu Jue smirked.
"How rude!"
"Never mind", Feng Bu Jue brushed it off with a grin.
"Hmph", La Bit continued. "Each corridor holds a potion. Ao Er Deng's from the Third Corridor, which he already gave me. I've already passed it to your future self." It stroked its beard thoughtfully. "Bi Li had his in the Fourth Corridor. When you captured him, you naturally obtained that one too."
"I get it", Feng Bu Jue summarized. "So potions remain in Corridors One, Two, and Four. The fourth potion I received after capturing Bi Li at the corridor's start."
La Bit nodded.
"Two final questions. First, which corridor is shortest?" Feng Bu Jue calculated time anxiously—already around 84 minutes. He worried about having enough time to face bosses in Corridors One or Two before returning. His plan: retreat, re-enter the Fourth Corridor from the start, reversing map time to gain flexibility.
"I don't know", La Bit shrugged. "I've only visited the First Corridor. Without freedom to explore, how could I compare?"
"What kind of warden are you?!" Feng Bu Jue exclaimed.
"If I could roam freely, I'd have recaptured the prisoners myself", La Bit retorted. "Regarding the First Corridor fugitive..."
"Where is he imprisoned? His potion?" Feng Bu Jue gestured at the dark Cells.
"I merely said I visited that corridor", La Bit corrected. "That prisoner... special case. I recommend confronting him last."
"Tch!" Feng Bu Jue turned to leave.
"Hey! You had two questions!" La Bit called.
Already sprinting toward the Second Corridor, Feng Bu Jue shouted back, "Second question: Why don't you capture them yourself!" His figure vanished into the corridor.
By Feng Bu Jue's internal count, his personal timeline now neared forty minutes.
(End of Chapter)
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