The two of them, working together, broke through several nodes in succession.
But just when Wen Xishu and Sirius thought they were about to complete the escape and end this long journey—
A variable appeared.
The ninth node.
When Wen Xishu opened his eyes again, he heard the roar of the Sea Beast, the tide, and the immense pressure coming from Von Neumann.
That feeling was incredibly familiar to Wen Xishu.
Just like how everything was at the beginning.
"How... did we end up back here?"
The storage room.
The slight warmth after the Scorpio Knife turned into a bonfire still lingered.
This was how it looked right after Scorpio had left.
Wen Xishu was shocked. Sirius was also a bit surprised.
"What's going on?"
Sirius was puzzled. Logically, after Wen Xishu traversed so many nodes unknown to him, he should have moved on to nodes familiar to Sirius.
But now, Wen Xishu had returned to the starting point.
A time loop trap?
Wen Xishu remembered, Sirius had once said that time nodes might trap someone in the same day...
Could it be that the series of crossings were actually a maze?
When you think you can bypass the maze of Pisces, little did you know, Pisces has laid out a bigger maze for you.
Sirius said:
"I could feel it, even though the paths were completely different... but at the end of the last node, you were very close to my physical form. Next, just take him away."
"But now, we're back to the starting point. Is it the Time Walker making corrections?"
Sirius's voice appeared in Wen Xishu's mind, and Wen Xishu could tell that Sirius also didn't know the current situation.
In fact, both Wen Xishu and Sirius felt as though they hadn't truly taken a step forward.
Maybe the previous series of nodes... was just some kind of illusion?
Reappearing in the original location, in the first safe zone, in that very first ship cabin storage room, totally disrupted their rhythm.
Wen Xishu knew that now wasn't the time to speak. The oppressive feeling from Von Neumann was too overwhelming.
This person's strength was definitely above that of Senior Xun Hui, perhaps even comparable to the Five Elders.
In his current state, Wen Xishu didn't dare provoke such an existence.
Wen Xishu immediately remembered...
He had an ability, a save point. It was the power granted to him by Scorpio, which allowed him to choose a save point when he encountered insurmountable danger.
That is, to return to the beginning point.
Right at this moment, Wen Xishu felt as if he had returned to the initial starting point, like a save point.
But this wasn't a save point.
Wen Xishu was certain something went wrong.
"No, could it be that the time exceeded twelve hours? No... that doesn't seem right."
Wen Xishu even contemplated whether to use the save point ability now to restart from the beginning.
"Wen Xishu, we have to keep going. No matter what, we can't just sit and wait for death. Although we've returned to the starting point... we still need to continue looking for an escape point."
"Let's go, to the Time Turbulence Zone."
Having returned to the starting point, naturally, they could only start over again.
At the beginning, Wen Xishu, guided by Sirius, cleared the path by utilizing Sirius's flesh and blood before entering the Time Turbulence Zone.
Now, Sirius also planned to use the same method. But Sirius's words immediately reminded Wen Xishu.
Wen Xishu suddenly realized it was a trap:
"Sirius, don't move, don't use your power! Stay quiet! Everything is a facade! Along the way, we've encountered no problems! All the decisions were correct, no need to use the save point, and we haven't experienced any time loop!"
Since Sirius was attached to Wen Xishu, even the slightest movement of Wen Xishu's lips could let Sirius understand what was being said without making much sound.
Wen Xishu once again smiled:
"We haven't gone back to the starting point... We've only returned to a place that looks very much like the starting point."
"They are the same place spatially, but completely different temporally."
"Pisces are devious, intentionally creating such a scene to deceive us... If we enter the Time Turbulence Zone from here, the Time Walker would surely be alerted."
"This isn't the starting point, but rather the timeline a few minutes after we left the starting point!"
Initially, Sirius didn't understand what was going on, but soon, he figured it out.
All the previous nodes were timelines set far into the future.
But this timeline was just a few hours... or even a few minutes ahead.
That's why, at first glance, it seemed like they had returned to the starting point.
But in reality, they're still within a certain timeline node.
Wen Xishu took out the Compass once more.
Sure enough, the pointer of the Compass wasn't pointing towards the Time Turbulence but in the opposite direction.
At this moment, Wen Xishu was sure... he was truly close to Sirius's physical form.
As long as they could break through Pisces's illusion.
Sirius was extremely excited knowing that once he obtained freedom, he'd become a target for Scorpio.
But it was undoubtedly better than losing his free will and becoming a slave to Pisces.
Wen Xishu began to cautiously move and managed not to disturb the super formidable Von Neumann.
Soon, Wen Xishu arrived at the escape point. It was at the end of a ventilation duct above the storage room.
Without any surprises, Wen Xishu saw through a malicious design by Pisces and finally entered the tenth node.
...
He had forgotten how many times he had opened his eyes, but this time, Wen Xishu arrived at the most forbidden area of the Ark—
The inner prison where Sirius was held.