Chapter 419: William Cage
The interior of the radar station was filled with the smell of dust and machine oil. Cage stood in the center, looking around uneasily at these strangely equipped people.
Maine's dark-red armor looked particularly solemn in the dim light filtering through the broken windows.
"William Cage," Maine's synthesized voice broke the silence, "you are experiencing a time loop."
Cage jerked his head up, his pupils contracting. That term hit the chaotic fragments in his mind.
"Ever since the first time you were drenched in the blood of that blue Mimic on the beachhead, time has been continuously repeating," Maine continued. "You remember, don't you? It's not a vague sense of déjà vu, it's clear memory."
Cage's breathing grew rapid. The images surfaced uncontrollably: the explosion, the blue blood, the heart-tearing pain, and then... waking up, starting over.
"This is the fifth time," Maine said. "It's the fifth time for us, too. We remember it all."
"The fifth time..." Cage's voice was hoarse. "Every time it's... that blue monster..."
"Yes," Maine confirmed. "In every loop, you die at the hands of the Alpha. The first time, it ambushed you from the flank, its tentacles piercing your chest cavity. The second time, you tried to run and were impaled from behind. The third and fourth times, you were forced into a frontal confrontation with it, and the result was the same."
Cage stumbled backward, grabbing onto a nearby metal crate to steady himself. These details were too specific, so specific that he couldn't deny them. The pain of every death had been so real; it was no nightmare.
"How could you..." he asked with difficulty, "how could you remember too?"
"We are immune to the reset," Maine answered. "We have observed and recorded every loop."
Rebecca kicked a piece of rubble at her feet impatiently: "Rookie, do you understand? We're trapped in this hellhole just like you, and we remember it perfectly clearly. Stop making that damn face!"
Pilar approached with a scanner, his eyes filled with a researcher's curiosity: "Five deaths in the exact same pattern... this should leave detectable imprints on the neural pathways. Mind if I scan you? Just simple vital sign monitoring..."
Cage instinctively dodged the scanner. Dorio stepped forward at the right moment, placing herself between the two.
"We understand this is hard to accept," Dorio's voice was relatively calm, "but denial won't change the current situation. We remember the loops, and you have information we need. Cooperation benefits both sides."
David added: "According to observations, the triggering of the loop is directly related to your contact with the Alpha's blood. Your death is like the switch for the reset system."
Cage looked around at these strangely equipped individuals. Their calmness formed a stark contrast to his own panic, but it was exactly this calmness that made him start to believe they truly remembered everything. If they were also trapped in the loop, if they all remembered...
"What do you want to do?" he finally asked, his voice still unsteady but carrying a bit more resolve.
"Cooperate," Maine said. "First, we need to get you through today and change that death node. This will buy us more time for research. We will train you and improve your survivability. In return, you need to cooperate with our research, provide your experiences within the loops, and assist in locating key targets."
Survive. Break the loop. These two goals perfectly aligned with his own desires.
"Alright." Cage took a deep breath. "I agree to cooperate."
Maine nodded slightly: "Agreement reached."
Rebecca snorted: "Finally sorted that out. So, does the tutorial start now? Let me be clear first, I don't have much patience."
Dorio looked at Maine: "Next step?"
"Secure the stronghold first, until the original time of death has passed," Maine told Cage, then turned to the others. "Falco, maintain monitoring of the perimeter. Pilar, you may conduct basic scans, but no deep diagnostics. We need to verify whether Cage's survival truly extends the loop cycle."
A preliminary cooperative relationship was thus established. For Cage, this was the first time he saw real hope in the cycle of death.
The original time node of Cage's death passed uneventfully.
Inside the radar station, Cage instinctively touched his chest. The expected agonizing pain and blue blood did not appear. He was still alive, breathing the dust-filled air.
A strong sense of unreality enveloped him. This was the first time in countless loops that he had survived past that specific moment.
"Time of death node has passed," Falco confirmed calmly.
Pilar looked at his sensor readings: "Background spacetime parameters are stable. No reset-level energy fluctuations detected."
Maine turned to Cage, then swept his gaze over the entire squad.
"Preliminary verification successful. Cage's survival has indeed changed the fixed node of the loop. We have gained additional time." His voice paused. "Now, proceed to the next test: proactively eliminate the Alpha and observe its effect on the loop."
"About time we did this!" Rebecca excitedly patted her plasma bombardment cannon.
Cage's face turned slightly pale. The memory of death brought by the Alpha was still vivid, but he did not object. He knew this was a necessary step.
"Target location?" Maine asked.
"According to records from previous loops, the Alpha usually operates in Sector S-7 at this time. It's near a destroyed anti-aircraft position." Lucy brought up the map and marked the location.
"Move out," Maine ordered. "Valerie, Jackie, Iron Guards advance and suppress the front. Rebecca, take the high ground, prepare for long-range fire cover. Dorio, you and I will protect Cage and observe from a safe distance. Pilar, Lucy, prioritize recording the spacetime readings at the exact moment of the Alpha's death. Falco, coordinate battlefield information. Sasha, Kiwi, prepare to deploy electronic jamming."
The squad moved swiftly.
The two Iron Guards took the lead with heavy steps, pushing toward Sector S-7. Their appearance immediately attracted the attention of a large number of ordinary Mimics. The roar of bolters and autocannons echoed across the battlefield, forcefully tearing a path through the Mimic tide.
Rebecca climbed up a relatively intact staircase and set up her plasma bombardment cannon, the muzzle beginning to gather dangerous white light.
Maine and Dorio flanked Cage, following at a distance behind the Iron Guards. Cage stared nervously ahead, his palms sweaty.
Sasha and Kiwi quickly set up a portable electronic warfare array in the rear.
Sasha's hands slid rapidly over the virtual control interface: "Continuous data exchange detected between Mimic swarms, frequency in the THz band, modulation method is complex. Attempting to inject jamming signals."
Kiwi coordinated by adjusting the jamming parameters: "Prioritize jamming the communication nodes in Sector S-7 to weaken their coordination capabilities."
Soon, the deep blue silhouette appeared once again.
It attempted to use its speed and shield to break through the defensive line and go straight for Cage, just as it had before.
(End of Chapter)