The baby was awakened by the commotion around. He opened his eyes sleepily, looking curiously at the unfamiliar faces surrounding him.
Emil noticed Samael’s abnormality and asked, “Why is Samael so excited? Could this baby be some reincarnation of the Father God?”
After speaking, he realized that both Hongyue and Bai Lixin were staring at him.
Emil paused for a moment, then on realizing what he had just said, he quickly covered his mouth, “Oops.”
Oh no. In theory, they shouldn’t know Samael, and since Samael couldn’t talk now, how would they know his name?
Did he just expose himself?
“Samael?” Mr. Nick suddenly spoke up, “Is this the name Emil gave to this craftsman? The name doesn’t sound good, Emil, it’s ominous.”
“But it seems to match the current appearance of the craftsman. It must be because of the craftsman’s figure that Emil has this association, right?” Hongyue pondered for two seconds before slowly uttering a sentence.
Emil: “…”
‘Cool Sister, you really helped me out of that awkward situation.
Huh? Wait, why did I call her “cool sister”?’
Mr. Nick: “But Mr. Emil is right, why is Mr. Samael so excited about this baby?”
Elizabeth also approached, “Yes, judging by Samael’s expression, if his hands were free, he would have sat up from the bed by now.”
Emil’s mouth and eyes twitched.
‘How can you all so naturally accept this name?
Are you okay?’
He nervously stood there, waiting for the verdict of the movie’s death, but after waiting for a while, nothing happened.
Emil: [So, did I pass off as normal?]
Hongyue : [Young man, be more confident, remove the doubt. You did it, young man, well done!]
Emil: […]
‘I don’t quite understand.
Is President Song attracted to Cool Sister because she is cool or was it because of the sand sculpture attribute?
Did the brain break when she was a zombie queen?’
The baby turned its head and looked at Samael, gurgling curiously.
Samael opened his mouth and stared eagerly at Bai Lixin, but he couldn’t say anything. He could only blink his eyes desperately.
Bai Lixin thought for a moment and looked at Samael, “Are you trying to tell us something important?”
Samael blinked his eyes heavily.
Bai Lixin: “Is it about the resort and this baby?”
Samael blinked his eyes again.
Bai Lixin pulled up a chair from the side and sat down, “Have I ever told you that I can roughly guess what others are saying from their lip movements?”
Samael: […] ‘No, you haven’t.’
“But my accuracy isn’t that high. Let’s do this. Move your lips, then I’ll ask to confirm, and you blink your eyes. If I guessed correctly, you blink once, and if I’m wrong, blink twice.”
Samael blinked his eyes once.
Bai Lixin casually leaned against the old gong behind him and said lazily, “Okay, you start.”
Samael opened his mouth, hesitated for two seconds, and finally shook his head.
Hongyue: “You can’t even move your lips?”
Samael blinked his eyes.
Bai Lixin: “Perhaps it’s because when your tongue was pulled out, they also took away your ability to speak?”
Samael blinked his eyes with a bright light in them, showing appreciation.
Bai Lixin: “Your tongue was removed, fingers broken, arms and legs fractured, body covered in wounds, and someone imprisoned you here just to torture you?”
Samael blinked his eyes.
“Hiss,” Mr. Nick next to him shook his head, “such hatred, so cruel.”
Samael’s eyes flashed a touch of embarrassment.
Bai Lixin: “The one tormenting you, is it the master of Eden Resort?”
Samael blinked his eyes once and then twice.
Emil frowned, “Yes and no? What does that mean?”
Bai Lixin didn’t say much and continued to question, “If it’s neither yes nor no, then it’s probably the speculation in my mind. The one tormenting you might be the self-aware Eden.”
Samuel blinked once.
The others looked at Bai Lixin blankly for a moment, their eyes full of confusion.
Bai Lixin explained, “When I was in the other world, that creature’s words were full of resentment towards humans, complaints about the Father God, and grievances towards Eden Resort. Samael’s response of ‘neither yes nor no’ proves that this being possesses some control over Eden Resort, but it doesn’t match the description of the owner, or rather, Father God in our understanding. The only plausible guess is that it is Eden Resort itself.”
A creature generating intelligence from a building was not something he hadn’t seen before. In the previous campus copy, the ultimate boss of that copy was also a building on the campus.
However, the birth of that creature was mostly due to the accumulation of too many negative emotions from the people in the school. Eventually, all the negative emotions fermented and merged into a monster that trapped humans.
But in this copy, Eden Resort becoming self-aware was more likely to be a mythical existence. Dissatisfaction with the events of Adam and Eve gave birth to terrifying grievances.
One was a monster created by humans.
The other was a monster created by itself.
Samael cooperated and blinked his eyes, giving a definite answer.
Hongyue: “So that’s how it is.”
Mr. Nick and the others stared at each other for a while, but soon they calmed down. Up until now, they had seen so many bizarre and strange things that even if someone suddenly claimed to be an angel or a demon, they would believe it.
In other words, their capacity to doubt had completely disappeared.
After all, what could they do when they couldn’t beat others?
Bai Lixin: “You’re being tormented because you made Adam and Eve eat the fruit of wisdom, which led to Eden’s punishment. So Eden is venting all its hatred on you.”
Samael blinked his eyes.
“Oh, wait,” Elizabeth suddenly covered her mouth, “why did Adam and Eve come out? No, wait. Isn’t it the fallen angel Samael who tempted Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of wisdom according to the scriptures?”
Everyone suddenly widened their eyes and looked at the bandaged figure on the bed. The male actor asked, “Is he really Samael?! Am I going crazy, or is this world crazy?”
“Oh my God, maybe we three are all going crazy,” Mr. Nick frantically drew a cross on himself and looked like he was about to faint.
Emil’s eyes flickered, and he cautiously tugged at Bai Lixin’s sleeve, asking in a low voice, “Is it safe to say this out loud? Won’t we be discovered as outsiders in the movie and get trapped here?”
‘It’s okay if you want to stay here but I don’t want to be buried with you guys.’
“Emil, haven’t you noticed yet?” Hongyue spoke slowly, “Look at the leaves and birds outside. Since a moment ago, all the leaves have stopped moving.”
“And all those attendants have disappeared too.”
Emil, who hadn’t rested well since last night, was still feeling groggy. On hearing Hongyue’s words, he quickly walked to the window and looked outside. He found that at some point, the outside had indeed come to a standstill.
Leaves and birds were frozen in the air, with no bird chirping or insect sounds to be heard, and there was no wind at all.
Mr. Nick also approached Emil and looked out in shock.
Emil opened the window and reached out. He casually grabbed a floating leaf and effortlessly brought it back into the room.
The frozen Eden Resort was so eerie.
Emil observed the leaf in his hand, “How can this be?”
Hongyue: “I don’t know, but it’s evident that, except for us few, Eden has stopped functioning. It’s as if a music box has forgotten to wind the spring, and an unwound music box just stands there, becoming a frozen picture.”
“So, don’t worry about any surveillance. I guess Eden has shut down by itself.”
“Not shut down, it’s rebooting.” Bai Lixin corrected her, “Last night, the actions of the Aisli couple seemed to have broken something. That monster suddenly went mad and destroyed that space, saying ‘everything will start over’ while doing so.”
“Perhaps this brief stillness is just Eden accumulating energy for a reboot. When the time comes, this place will be a brand new Eden.”
“However, looking at it from another perspective, it’s also possible that this is the weakest moment for Eden right now.”
Samael cooperatively blinked his eyes, giving Bai Lixin a confirming reply.
Hongyue: “So that’s how it is.”
Mr. Nick and the others were completely dumbfounded. They were clueless from the beginning until now, and they became even more bewildered as they listened.
“What reboot, what weakest moment, what stillness.” The male actor finally couldn’t take it anymore and squatted on the ground, shouting in madness, “Are you all making a movie or not?”
He suddenly stood up from the ground, his eyes filled with madness.
He ran around the room like crazy, screaming and searching, “Where’s the camera? Where’s the director? Where did you hide the equipment? I know, this is all just a prank!”
“They always do this, don’t they? Those directors and tycoons always treat us actors like monkeys to amuse them. They like to manipulate us like puppets in a shop window to satisfy their desire for domination.”
“I told you, how could we be so lucky to get tickets to Eden Resort? It’s all lies, and so are they!”
The male actor became more and more excited, and his cheeks reddened due to the excitement, “Him, him, and them!”
The male actor frantically extended his arm, pointing at Mr. Nick and then at Bai Lixin and the others, “They are all actors hired by the director!”
“What Eden, what angels and demons, what Adam and Eve, it’s all a joke!”
“While we are afraid, those wealthy people hiding behind the camera are getting more and more delighted. They love to derive pleasure from our helplessness.”
“In their eyes, we are not humans; we are just monkeys.”
“Elizabeth,” the male actor suddenly grabbed Elizabeth’s hand, “let’s go. I’ll take you out of this haunted place right now.”
Elizabeth was roughly pulled and staggered before breaking free from the male actor’s grasp.
The male actor’s eyes were now bloodshot as he stared at Elizabeth, “I get it now. Even you were invited here to deceive me.”
“So, it turns out I’m the only clown.”
The male actor covered his face in pain and broke down into tears, “Hahaha, do you all enjoy watching my performance? You’re all freaks, every one of you!”
“Smack!”
Elizabeth’s hand swung heavily across the male actor’s face.
The male actor stood still, the madness in his eyes rapidly dissipating.
“Can you calm down?” Elizabeth squatted down in despair, “Look at the leaves outside. What movie company can achieve this? We are truly trapped in the supernatural. Stop deceiving yourself!”
“There are no actors! There are no directors hiding in the background! This is not a reality show; this is all real!”
Elizabeth yelled at the male actor, seemingly venting all the grievances she had suffered over the past few days, “Why won’t you face reality? You always hide behind others whenever something happens, leaving everything to others to handle. You’re not a three-year-old child.”
The male actor finally cried out, “But why is it us who are unlucky? I have a movie to start shooting next month, and the crew is the most powerful in the world, with the director having won several international awards. If I could finish that movie, I’d become famous overnight.”
“I thought the moment I got the ticket was the beginning of my luck, but it turned out to be the end.”
“Wuuu, Elizabeth, I want to go back. I really want to go back.”
Elizabeth’s eyes turned red, “We are not dead yet, and until the last moment, why give up?”
“You said you’re unlucky, but maybe we are the ones who got lucky and won’t die, returning home unscathed.”
As Elizabeth spoke, Bai Lixin glanced at the three of them quietly, his eyes sparkling.
Under Elizabeth’s consolation, the male actor finally stopped crying.
Mr. Nick sneered, his muttering disdainfully, “A waste.”
“I didn’t cry even when five people in my family died.”
The male actor’s cheeks reddened in shame. He lowered his head, not daring to look at the others.
After a brief episode, Bai Lixin continued to look at Samael, “Have you been in this space for a long time?”
Samael blinked his eyes.
Bai Lixin: “You brought us into this space, not just for us to clear and leave, right? Do you want us to rescue you from here?”
Samael blinked his eyes twice.
Bai Lixin: “Not for yourself? Is it for this child?”
Samael blinked his eyes twice again.
Bai Lixin frowned, “Not for you or the child. Could it be that you want us to break Eden’s space?”
Samael blinked once, then twice.
Bai Lixin: “You want me to save the trapped souls?”
This time, Samael blinked his eyes solemnly.
Bai Lixin stared at the baby on the bed, “He is the key… Does he have some special identity? Like Emil said, is he the reincarnation of the Father God?”
Samael blinked his eyes twice with certainty. ‘No.’
Hongyue raised her eyebrows, “Really?”
“If it’s not because of his identity, perhaps it’s because of his existence?” Jia’er placed both hands on Bai Lixin’s shoulders, finally breaking his silence and speaking up.
Samael immediately looked at Jia’er and blinked his eyes.
Bai Lixin assembled all the details in his mind and pondered if he had missed anything.
As the mental image settled on the Aisli couple, he suddenly looked up, “This is a looping space, and that monster said ‘reboot.’ The reboot isn’t just the space, but also time.”
“The Aisli couple always made the same choice, which always angered the Black Sheep, leading to the eventual reboot.”
“But in the previous cycles, we didn’t exist. So, according to the normal timeline, this baby, who defied the monster’s will, should die. But now, we brought him out, and he survived. He’s the variable, the existence that terrifies the monster, which is why he’s the key to breaking this deadly cycle.”
The baby was awakened by the commotion around. He opened his eyes sleepily, looking curiously at the unfamiliar faces surrounding him.
Emil noticed Samael’s abnormality and asked, “Why is Samael so excited? Could this baby be some reincarnation of the Father God?”
After speaking, he realized that both Hongyue and Bai Lixin were staring at him.
Emil paused for a moment, then on realizing what he had just said, he quickly covered his mouth, “Oops.”
Oh no. In theory, they shouldn’t know Samael, and since Samael couldn’t talk now, how would they know his name?
Did he just expose himself?
“Samael?” Mr. Nick suddenly spoke up, “Is this the name Emil gave to this craftsman? The name doesn’t sound good, Emil, it’s ominous.”
“But it seems to match the current appearance of the craftsman. It must be because of the craftsman’s figure that Emil has this association, right?” Hongyue pondered for two seconds before slowly uttering a sentence.
Emil: “…”
‘Cool Sister, you really helped me out of that awkward situation.
Huh? Wait, why did I call her “cool sister”?’
Mr. Nick: “But Mr. Emil is right, why is Mr. Samael so excited about this baby?”
Elizabeth also approached, “Yes, judging by Samael’s expression, if his hands were free, he would have sat up from the bed by now.”
Emil’s mouth and eyes twitched.
‘How can you all so naturally accept this name?
Are you okay?’
He nervously stood there, waiting for the verdict of the movie’s death, but after waiting for a while, nothing happened.
Emil: [So, did I pass off as normal?]
Hongyue : [Young man, be more confident, remove the doubt. You did it, young man, well done!]
Emil: […]
‘I don’t quite understand.
Is President Song attracted to Cool Sister because she is cool or was it because of the sand sculpture attribute?
Did the brain break when she was a zombie queen?’
The baby turned its head and looked at Samael, gurgling curiously.
Samael opened his mouth and stared eagerly at Bai Lixin, but he couldn’t say anything. He could only blink his eyes desperately.
Bai Lixin thought for a moment and looked at Samael, “Are you trying to tell us something important?”
Samael blinked his eyes heavily.
Bai Lixin: “Is it about the resort and this baby?”
Samael blinked his eyes again.
Bai Lixin pulled up a chair from the side and sat down, “Have I ever told you that I can roughly guess what others are saying from their lip movements?”
Samael: […] ‘No, you haven’t.’
“But my accuracy isn’t that high. Let’s do this. Move your lips, then I’ll ask to confirm, and you blink your eyes. If I guessed correctly, you blink once, and if I’m wrong, blink twice.”
Samael blinked his eyes once.
Bai Lixin casually leaned against the old gong behind him and said lazily, “Okay, you start.”
Samael opened his mouth, hesitated for two seconds, and finally shook his head.
Hongyue: “You can’t even move your lips?”
Samael blinked his eyes.
Bai Lixin: “Perhaps it’s because when your tongue was pulled out, they also took away your ability to speak?”
Samael blinked his eyes with a bright light in them, showing appreciation.
Bai Lixin: “Your tongue was removed, fingers broken, arms and legs fractured, body covered in wounds, and someone imprisoned you here just to torture you?”
Samael blinked his eyes.
“Hiss,” Mr. Nick next to him shook his head, “such hatred, so cruel.”
Samael’s eyes flashed a touch of embarrassment.
Bai Lixin: “The one tormenting you, is it the master of Eden Resort?”
Samael blinked his eyes once and then twice.
Emil frowned, “Yes and no? What does that mean?”
Bai Lixin didn’t say much and continued to question, “If it’s neither yes nor no, then it’s probably the speculation in my mind. The one tormenting you might be the self-aware Eden.”
Samuel blinked once.
The others looked at Bai Lixin blankly for a moment, their eyes full of confusion.
Bai Lixin explained, “When I was in the other world, that creature’s words were full of resentment towards humans, complaints about the Father God, and grievances towards Eden Resort. Samael’s response of ‘neither yes nor no’ proves that this being possesses some control over Eden Resort, but it doesn’t match the description of the owner, or rather, Father God in our understanding. The only plausible guess is that it is Eden Resort itself.”
A creature generating intelligence from a building was not something he hadn’t seen before. In the previous campus copy, the ultimate boss of that copy was also a building on the campus.
However, the birth of that creature was mostly due to the accumulation of too many negative emotions from the people in the school. Eventually, all the negative emotions fermented and merged into a monster that trapped humans.
But in this copy, Eden Resort becoming self-aware was more likely to be a mythical existence. Dissatisfaction with the events of Adam and Eve gave birth to terrifying grievances.
One was a monster created by humans.
The other was a monster created by itself.
Samael cooperated and blinked his eyes, giving a definite answer.
Hongyue: “So that’s how it is.”
Mr. Nick and the others stared at each other for a while, but soon they calmed down. Up until now, they had seen so many bizarre and strange things that even if someone suddenly claimed to be an angel or a demon, they would believe it.
In other words, their capacity to doubt had completely disappeared.
After all, what could they do when they couldn’t beat others?
Bai Lixin: “You’re being tormented because you made Adam and Eve eat the fruit of wisdom, which led to Eden’s punishment. So Eden is venting all its hatred on you.”
Samael blinked his eyes.
“Oh, wait,” Elizabeth suddenly covered her mouth, “why did Adam and Eve come out? No, wait. Isn’t it the fallen angel Samael who tempted Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of wisdom according to the scriptures?”
Everyone suddenly widened their eyes and looked at the bandaged figure on the bed. The male actor asked, “Is he really Samael?! Am I going crazy, or is this world crazy?”
“Oh my God, maybe we three are all going crazy,” Mr. Nick frantically drew a cross on himself and looked like he was about to faint.
Emil’s eyes flickered, and he cautiously tugged at Bai Lixin’s sleeve, asking in a low voice, “Is it safe to say this out loud? Won’t we be discovered as outsiders in the movie and get trapped here?”
‘It’s okay if you want to stay here but I don’t want to be buried with you guys.’
“Emil, haven’t you noticed yet?” Hongyue spoke slowly, “Look at the leaves and birds outside. Since a moment ago, all the leaves have stopped moving.”
“And all those attendants have disappeared too.”
Emil, who hadn’t rested well since last night, was still feeling groggy. On hearing Hongyue’s words, he quickly walked to the window and looked outside. He found that at some point, the outside had indeed come to a standstill.
Leaves and birds were frozen in the air, with no bird chirping or insect sounds to be heard, and there was no wind at all.
Mr. Nick also approached Emil and looked out in shock.
Emil opened the window and reached out. He casually grabbed a floating leaf and effortlessly brought it back into the room.
The frozen Eden Resort was so eerie.
Emil observed the leaf in his hand, “How can this be?”
Hongyue: “I don’t know, but it’s evident that, except for us few, Eden has stopped functioning. It’s as if a music box has forgotten to wind the spring, and an unwound music box just stands there, becoming a frozen picture.”
“So, don’t worry about any surveillance. I guess Eden has shut down by itself.”
“Not shut down, it’s rebooting.” Bai Lixin corrected her, “Last night, the actions of the Aisli couple seemed to have broken something. That monster suddenly went mad and destroyed that space, saying ‘everything will start over’ while doing so.”
“Perhaps this brief stillness is just Eden accumulating energy for a reboot. When the time comes, this place will be a brand new Eden.”
“However, looking at it from another perspective, it’s also possible that this is the weakest moment for Eden right now.”
Samael cooperatively blinked his eyes, giving Bai Lixin a confirming reply.
Hongyue: “So that’s how it is.”
Mr. Nick and the others were completely dumbfounded. They were clueless from the beginning until now, and they became even more bewildered as they listened.
“What reboot, what weakest moment, what stillness.” The male actor finally couldn’t take it anymore and squatted on the ground, shouting in madness, “Are you all making a movie or not?”
He suddenly stood up from the ground, his eyes filled with madness.
He ran around the room like crazy, screaming and searching, “Where’s the camera? Where’s the director? Where did you hide the equipment? I know, this is all just a prank!”
“They always do this, don’t they? Those directors and tycoons always treat us actors like monkeys to amuse them. They like to manipulate us like puppets in a shop window to satisfy their desire for domination.”
“I told you, how could we be so lucky to get tickets to Eden Resort? It’s all lies, and so are they!”
The male actor became more and more excited, and his cheeks reddened due to the excitement, “Him, him, and them!”
The male actor frantically extended his arm, pointing at Mr. Nick and then at Bai Lixin and the others, “They are all actors hired by the director!”
“What Eden, what angels and demons, what Adam and Eve, it’s all a joke!”
“While we are afraid, those wealthy people hiding behind the camera are getting more and more delighted. They love to derive pleasure from our helplessness.”
“In their eyes, we are not humans; we are just monkeys.”
“Elizabeth,” the male actor suddenly grabbed Elizabeth’s hand, “let’s go. I’ll take you out of this haunted place right now.”
Elizabeth was roughly pulled and staggered before breaking free from the male actor’s grasp.
The male actor’s eyes were now bloodshot as he stared at Elizabeth, “I get it now. Even you were invited here to deceive me.”
“So, it turns out I’m the only clown.”
The male actor covered his face in pain and broke down into tears, “Hahaha, do you all enjoy watching my performance? You’re all freaks, every one of you!”
“Smack!”
Elizabeth’s hand swung heavily across the male actor’s face.
The male actor stood still, the madness in his eyes rapidly dissipating.
“Can you calm down?” Elizabeth squatted down in despair, “Look at the leaves outside. What movie company can achieve this? We are truly trapped in the supernatural. Stop deceiving yourself!”
“There are no actors! There are no directors hiding in the background! This is not a reality show; this is all real!”
Elizabeth yelled at the male actor, seemingly venting all the grievances she had suffered over the past few days, “Why won’t you face reality? You always hide behind others whenever something happens, leaving everything to others to handle. You’re not a three-year-old child.”
The male actor finally cried out, “But why is it us who are unlucky? I have a movie to start shooting next month, and the crew is the most powerful in the world, with the director having won several international awards. If I could finish that movie, I’d become famous overnight.”
“I thought the moment I got the ticket was the beginning of my luck, but it turned out to be the end.”
“Wuuu, Elizabeth, I want to go back. I really want to go back.”
Elizabeth’s eyes turned red, “We are not dead yet, and until the last moment, why give up?”
“You said you’re unlucky, but maybe we are the ones who got lucky and won’t die, returning home unscathed.”
As Elizabeth spoke, Bai Lixin glanced at the three of them quietly, his eyes sparkling.
Under Elizabeth’s consolation, the male actor finally stopped crying.
Mr. Nick sneered, his muttering disdainfully, “A waste.”
“I didn’t cry even when five people in my family died.”
The male actor’s cheeks reddened in shame. He lowered his head, not daring to look at the others.
After a brief episode, Bai Lixin continued to look at Samael, “Have you been in this space for a long time?”
Samael blinked his eyes.
Bai Lixin: “You brought us into this space, not just for us to clear and leave, right? Do you want us to rescue you from here?”
Samael blinked his eyes twice.
Bai Lixin: “Not for yourself? Is it for this child?”
Samael blinked his eyes twice again.
Bai Lixin frowned, “Not for you or the child. Could it be that you want us to break Eden’s space?”
Samael blinked once, then twice.
Bai Lixin: “You want me to save the trapped souls?”
This time, Samael blinked his eyes solemnly.
Bai Lixin stared at the baby on the bed, “He is the key… Does he have some special identity? Like Emil said, is he the reincarnation of the Father God?”
Samael blinked his eyes twice with certainty. ‘No.’
Hongyue raised her eyebrows, “Really?”
“If it’s not because of his identity, perhaps it’s because of his existence?” Jia’er placed both hands on Bai Lixin’s shoulders, finally breaking his silence and speaking up.
Samael immediately looked at Jia’er and blinked his eyes.
Bai Lixin assembled all the details in his mind and pondered if he had missed anything.
As the mental image settled on the Aisli couple, he suddenly looked up, “This is a looping space, and that monster said ‘reboot.’ The reboot isn’t just the space, but also time.”
“The Aisli couple always made the same choice, which always angered the Black Sheep, leading to the eventual reboot.”
“But in the previous cycles, we didn’t exist. So, according to the normal timeline, this baby, who defied the monster’s will, should die. But now, we brought him out, and he survived. He’s the variable, the existence that terrifies the monster, which is why he’s the key to breaking this deadly cycle.”
