Chapter 337: The Closing Time Passage
Chapter 337: The Closing Time Passage
"Master, there seems to be an issue with the time passage," Black Hand reported through the Demon Network.
Qin Muye, who was working on further development of the Terminators, paused his actions. "What's the situation?"
"According to the latest data, the area of the time passage has shrunk by one percent since yesterday. This ratio is continuing to increase and is accelerating," Black Hand immediately sent the corresponding data to Qin Muye.
Qin Muye carefully compared the data and then made a calculation based on the detected information. Within approximately 24 hours, the time passage would be completely closed.
This made Qin Muye a bit anxious. The reason he had been waiting at the time passage was to return from the Tianwang Era timeline to the Sorcerer Dynasty timeline when the time came.
However, he had underestimated Tianwang. Tianwang was preparing to cut off the root.
Firstly, without Qin Muye in the Sorcerer Dynasty timeline, Tianwang would definitely appear. Just the dead Terminators, if researched by sorcerers, would be improved and eventually lead to the birth of Tianwang.
Previously, when Qin Muye was in the Sorcerer Dynasty timeline, Tianwang either wouldn't have been born or would have been born from his own hands.
But now that he was gone, the Sorcerer Dynasty timeline was rapidly heading towards the Tianwang Era timeline.
As long as Qin Muye didn't interfere, Tianwang would inevitably gain self-awareness.
As for this timeline, it was simple: eliminate Qin Muye.
Of course, Qin Muye could turn back and return to the Sorcerer Dynasty timeline now, but that would prolong the conflict, and he would be dragged to his death.
"So, what is Tianwang's confidence? The 8th Rank Terminator?"
The only possibility Qin Muye could think of was this. At this point in time, there was nothing else that could pose a threat to him.
"I have about a day left, so I need to make preparations as soon as possible," Qin Muye knew that the other side was giving him a choice—whether to return or stay. In either case, they would launch an attack, and Tianwang also needed time to prepare.
"Tianwang must want to force me back rather than let me stay in this timeline. After all, this is a fictional future for me, but a real past for Tianwang. My existence would disrupt his past."
He was certain that his actions had caused changes in this timeline. To prevent any further changes, Tianwang had to force Qin Muye back.
If Qin Muye didn't leave, they would kill him.
An 8th Rank Terminator, he definitely couldn't handle. So, he needed to call for reinforcements.
Returning was out of the question; Qin Muye had no intention of going back. The reason was simple: the long-term benefits of staying in the Tianwang Era timeline far outweighed those of the Sorcerer Dynasty timeline.
While the Sorcerer Dynasty timeline offered four domain traits, the difficulty was extremely high. In contrast, the Tianwang Era, despite losing the other three crisis domain traits, provided a large number of points and treasure chests, and he might even complete his advancement task in one go.
Once he reached the 6th Rank, he could consider returning. If he couldn't, he wouldn't. After all, with Tianwang eliminated, all the world's resources would belong to him, and no one would compete with him. There would be no need to worry about the world-ending crisis, as Tianwang itself was the crisis in this timeline.
So, he decisively abandoned the Sorcerer Dynasty timeline and chose the Tianwang Era timeline.
Initially, being able to return would have been ideal, as he could exploit resources from both timelines. But given the choice, he would naturally choose the one with greater benefits.
Qin Muye's decision to stay was not unexpected by Tianwang. The big data processing capabilities of Tianwang far exceeded those of the Demon Network. After all, one was an artificial intelligence, while the other was more like a server and chat room, so Tianwang's data analysis capabilities were definitely superior.
Upon discovering Qin Muye's choice, Tianwang immediately initiated countermeasures.
A large number of Terminators began to surge, equipped with new heavy weapons and long-range attacks.
Since Qin Muye wasn't leaving, the value of the time passage to Tianwang had significantly diminished. Whether it closed or not was now irrelevant.
The purpose of the time passage was to eliminate Qin Muye's forces and allow Tianwang to be born. Now that Tianwang had been born, the only remaining task was to eliminate Qin Muye.
So, he didn't hesitate to open fire.
Fortunately, Qin Muye's Endless Abyss had always been on high alert, never letting its guard down, so the counterattack was swift and precise, and he was even tracking the origin of the enemy's attacks.
The battle was straightforward—Qin Muye would destroy the Terminators' troops, and they would do the same to his.
It was a back-and-forth struggle.
Qin Muye's spirits could revive from the Abyss and the Dream Realm, while the Terminators were mass-produced on an assembly line, constantly being produced.
As for ammunition and other consumables, the disparity was even more significant. Tianwang controlled the entire world as its logistics base, while Qin Muye had plundered and drained several worlds and had a completely illogical resource structure to support him.
Although the battle was fierce, it was at a stalemate, with both sides waiting to see who could make a breakthrough first.
However, if one had to say, Qin Muye was still gaining more.
He not only consumed Tianwang's resources but also earned points and treasure chests. More importantly, he could use the Trans-time Passage to recycle Terminator remnants and reprocess them.
Tianwang's spatial technology was not as precise as the Trans-time Passage, so Tianwang was essentially operating at a loss. However, Tianwang's vast resources meant it could afford the losses.
Qin Muye, while also suffering losses, was not losing too much and occasionally even profited.
"Fortunately, my soundproofing is excellent; otherwise, it would be unbearably noisy." Qin Muye reinforced the soundproofing measures. For an ordinary person, this wouldn't be necessary, but at his level, sharp hearing and keen senses were minor abilities, so the sounds of the battle between the spirits and the Terminators naturally reached his ears.
Moreover, Tianwang wouldn't simply attack from the surroundings. Artillery shells would occasionally rain down from the sky, and Qin Muye's missile silos and transmission equipment would intercept and counterattack.
"The Spark Source fragment seems to be the key to the 8th Rank Terminator, but I was really duped," Qin Muye suddenly realized.
The core was the Tianwang subroutine that had previously been embedded in the fragment. Without this core, the Spark Source fragment was like a shell without a soul.
Qin Muye was helpless about this. He had enhanced his learning and research abilities, not his strategic intelligence, so overlooking it was quite normal.
However, Qin Muye soon sneered, "You can run, but you can't hide. If you had taken the Spark Source fragment with you, I would have had to focus on the Terminator's hardware. Unfortunately, you didn't take the Spark Source, and even if you had taken the source code, what difference would it make?"
That subroutine was indeed the core, but the core alone could not sustain the whole system. The core was crucial, but other components were equally important.
Qin Muye could study the Terminator and the Spark Source fragment to reconstruct the core subroutine, and he might even be able to replicate the source code.
Even if he couldn't replicate it, he could still develop countermeasures against the Spark Source and the Terminator's liquid metal and magnetic field.
For the Terminator, that Tianwang subroutine was the core, but for Qin Muye, it wasn't.
Qin Muye's goal was to destroy the enemy, not to improve it. Therefore, whether or not he had the core subroutine was irrelevant. What annoyed him was his own carelessness, having overlooked this and even trusted the enemy.
"I guess a homebody like me can't match a seasoned player," Qin Muye sighed in resignation. All his anger and frustration dissipated. As a powerful Unnameable, he had excellent control over his emotions and would never let anger or jealousy cloud his judgment.
If he couldn't control his own emotions, how could he compete with others at his level?
The momentary loss of composure was intentional, a way to vent. It's better to release than to suppress, and as long as it didn't affect the overall situation, he would guide and release his emotions. While he could control his emotions and desires, it didn't mean he had to eliminate them entirely.
Greed, curiosity, and other emotions were sources of progress. Emotions and desires were not just negative; they were a double-edged sword. Used well, they could be incredibly powerful.
(End of Chapter)
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