"Target W. Cage has appeared," Falco reported.
In everyone's view, the recruit reappeared on the right wing.
His position was the same as last time, but the details were different.
His movements were more hurried and clumsy than before, and the confusion and fear in his eyes were even more intense.
He fired slightly too early, his aim was worse, and he fell in a more disheveled manner. It didn't seem like a repetitive performance; it was more like a new recruit truly consumed by fear, struggling in despair.
"The behavior pattern is deviating," Lucy calmly analyzed the data transmitted back by the Titan. "The similarity of the movement trajectory is 94.3%, but the rhythm is disordered, and the stress response exceeds the previous record by 15%."
Valerie and Jackie piloted the Iron Guard steadily forward, with their firepower targets largely consistent with the first cycle. However, they were also recording the machine's parameters and keeping an eye out for any details that didn't fit the "script."
The battle unfolded along a predetermined trajectory on a macro level.
Maine's squad efficiently cleared the beachhead, and UDF soldiers moved closer to them.
However, Cage's more panicked performance, which he could not fully replicate, proved that he was not the manipulator of the loop, but a victim trapped in it, and that he remembered—at least vaguely remembered—his previous death.
"High-intensity energy signal detected!" Kiwi's voice rang out, the timing matching the previous one: "Bearing 2-7-0, approaching at high speed!"
The dark blue Alpha reappeared, its trajectory and target unchanged.
"A special individual has appeared." Maine's voice was steady. "Try non-lethal suppression and observe Cage's reaction."
Pilar launched a capture net, which was evaded again. Lucy's Titans fired harassing shots, but with little effect.
When Cage saw Alpha charging towards him, his face showed a mixture of fear and a familiar despair. His movements even froze for a moment before he scrambled to reach for the bundle of deadly grenades.
"The target is showing potential memory traces of the current situation." David observed Cage's physiological data.
"Unable to intercept effectively," Pilar reported.
Maine knew the crucial moment was approaching.
He must maximize data acquisition before the reset is triggered.
"Abandon capture! Everyone, record all data from the moment Alpha dies and the three seconds that follow! Sasha, Lucy, focus on the energy pulse!" Maine quickly gave the order.
Cage throws a grenade.
Explosion, blue blood splattering, screams erupting.
Sasha and Lucy's instruments vibrated violently again.
"The spacetime curvature is changing drastically! The energy pulse characteristics are stable!" Sasha shouted.
The familiar dizziness returned.
The scene before them flickered, and they returned to the landing craft cabin, the engines roaring.
"Third cycle confirmation," Falco reported.
The team members quickly checked and confirmed the data records.
"The data is complete."
"The energy pulse waveforms are highly consistent."
The two identical resets, along with Cage's performance which couldn't be perfectly replicated and showed signs of memory, led Maine to make his judgment.
The value of continuing to repeat the beachhead battle to observe Cage's personal biases is diminishing.
They need to be more proactively involved.
"Target change for this cycle," Maine ordered before lowering the ramp. "We will not participate in the main beachhead assault. Valerie, Jackie, provide one heavy firepower coverage, then move to designated extraction point A."
The rest of you, follow the Iron Guard. We'll disengage from the main combat zone before Alpha appears and establish temporary observation posts.
"Clear."
The springboard landed, and the third battle (for the squad) began.
After they quickly cleared the area, as the UDF forces began to close in, Maine decisively ordered: "Disengage now."
With Iron Guard suppressing the fire, the squad retreated and moved towards the abandoned radar station on the high ground to the flank.
Their evacuation caused some initial chaos, but it was quickly swallowed up by the battlefield.
The squad occupied the radar station and established temporary defense and observation points.
"Safety point established."
"Continuously monitor the battlefield, with a focus on target W. Cage and the Alpha signal."
They looked down at the battlefield.
Cage struggles through the chaos below, Alpha arrives as expected, explosions, blue light, reset.
"The energy pulse has been recorded. The circulation mechanism has been confirmed again," Sasha reported.
They successfully broke free from the script, confirmed Cage's condition, and obtained a relatively safe observation position.
Next, it's time to analyze the data, understand the deep mechanisms of the loop, and report this unexpected discovery to Magos Osiris.
——
The familiar dizziness subsided, and Maine's team returned to the swaying landing craft cabin.
The roar of engines and the salty smell of seawater replaced the dust and rust inside the radar station. The faces of the UDF soldiers around them remained unchanged, repeating the pre-landing preparations.
"Fourth cycle confirmation." Falco's voice rang out immediately in the squad's encrypted channel.
Without a moment's hesitation, Maine immediately issued the order: "Execute the third evacuation plan. Pilar, once we reach the safe point, prioritize deploying the cross-dimensional communication terminal."
The springboard landed, and the battle resumed.
Following the path verified in the previous cycle, after initially clearing the beachhead and attracting simulated fire, the squad decisively withdrew from the main battlefield and moved again to the abandoned radar station on the flank.
The whole process was more skillful, and the disengagement speed was faster than last time.
After securing the radar station, Pilar and Sasha immediately took out the half-meter-tall silver-gray metal cylinder from the equipment box—the prototype of the cross-dimensional communication terminal.
This is the culmination of a new technology summarized by Osiris based on previous dimensional exploration experiments. It can send encrypted data packets through directional dimensional folds and can theoretically penetrate the physical barriers of most dimensions. This is its first practical application.
The terminal was quickly placed on a relatively flat surface, and the miniature phase array antenna was deployed and connected to an independent power unit.
The dark blue patterns lit up, and a deep hum echoed in the empty radar station.
"Communication terminal activated. Calibrating dimensional coordinates... Connecting to the main dimensional anchor point... Signal strength stable." Pilar stared intently at the status display screen, speaking rapidly.
Meanwhile, Lucy and David had finished organizing the data recorded in the past three cycles and packaged it into an encrypted data packet.
The content is extensive, including:
Complete combat logs and environmental sensor data.
Structural scanning, energy characterization, and tissue analysis of mimic organisms.
High-precision recording of spatiotemporal curvature changes and energy pulse waveforms at the instants of three time resets.
A detailed observational report on William Cage's special connection with Alpha and the traces of cyclical memory he exhibits.
A preliminary analysis report on the time reset phenomenon, including the triggering conditions, the scope of impact, and the confirmation of the squad immunity phenomenon.
"Data packaging and encryption complete, using the highest-level key," Lucy reported.
"Begin the transfer," Maine commanded.
The transmission program starts, the frequency of the terminal's buzzing sound increases, and a subtle visual distortion appears in the space around the antenna.
The massive data stream is compressed and encoded, passing through the gaps in dimensions, and flowing to the other end.