Chapter 504 - 472: The Unstopped Cycle

Chapter 504: Chapter 472: The Unstopped Cycle

Vilan looked left and right, then leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper.

"The exact time was about... fifteen Silver Radiance Days ago? The location was on the outskirts of the Black Pine Forest, far to the west of the city, near the old mining pits. As for how it was captured... I’m not on the operations team, so I really don’t know the details."

He scratched his head.

"I only heard a thing or two from the transport guys when they were drunk. They said there was a strange turbulence of Magic Power in that area, and the Nightmare appeared very suddenly, as if it had fallen out of an unstable rift."

"The capture process... seemed to go unusually smoothly. It didn’t put up much of a fight. The Nightmare seemed a bit... dazed? Or maybe, not itself?"

He tried hard to recall the fragmented rumors.

"But the Advanced Beast Tamer who led the team didn’t look too happy after he got back. It seemed like he had some... doubts? About the capture itself. But that’s not something someone at my level would know."

Roland nodded thoughtfully.

"Oh, right."

Vilan added, perhaps because he felt the information wasn’t valuable enough, or perhaps the Golden Radiance Coin had jogged his memory.

"I think some people from the City Hall’s ’Observation Station’ went along too, but nobody knows what exactly they did."

"Thank you."

Roland nodded at Vilan and didn’t ask any more questions.

As if granted amnesty, Vilan bowed repeatedly before quickly disappearing into the crowd, probably off to hide his unexpected windfall.

After hearing the information Vilan revealed, Roland remained outwardly composed, but he had already engraved every detail into his mind.

His purpose in asking for the capture details was crystal clear.

He was paving the way for his "future self."

Although the present Roland didn’t yet understand why the future "Rudolph" would be separated from this Nightmare—with which he was clearly acquainted and on friendly terms—leading to its capture by the "Secret Silver Hoof," it didn’t stop him from preparing for a rainy day.

The strange experience of the time loop and the Nightmare’s cry of "Brother" had all but confirmed that the two of them were fated to cross paths in the future.

Therefore, this intelligence about the time of capture and the unusual circumstances was of immeasurable value.

When "Roland" truly became "Rudolph" and reached the correct point in time, this information would give him a crucial head start.

He could use his precise foreknowledge of the event’s time and location to arrive in the Black Pine Forest area ahead of the Secret Silver Hoof’s operations team, or even before the moment the Nightmare "abnormally appeared."

Whether he needed to intercept, provide support, or investigate the reason for the Nightmare’s appearance, he would hold the absolute initiative.

It was like holding a treasure map from the future, one that marked the treasure’s exact location and the right time to get it.

The only uncertainty was whether his intervention would trigger a change in the timeline itself.

But in any case, being prepared was far better than blindly rushing in.

As for why he didn’t establish a link with the Nightmare right now...

Although they had entered Silver Radiance City proper, it was still inconclusive whether the loop had truly been broken or if they had merely entered the "next stage" of the loop.

If the loop was still ongoing, then any attempt to establish a substantial connection with the Nightmare right now would likely be futile. Everything could still be reset when the time came.

Even if he succeeded, he wouldn’t have enough time to complete the [Ranger] class initiation before the loop restarted.

Second was the unpredictable nature of this "Misaligned Space-Time" itself.

They were like figures walking through a massive, incredibly realistic painting—able to converse with the people in the painting, but unable to truly touch them.

Under these circumstances, what kind of consequences would be triggered if he rashly tried to forcibly "take" something from the painting, especially a powerful Magical Creature?

Would he be rejected by Space-Time itself?

Or could he destroy this fragile balance, leading to an even more unpredictable crisis?

Until he understood more about Silver Radiance City and the fundamental nature of this state of Space-Time, caution was the best policy.

Having sorted out these key points, Roland turned to his companions.

"Since we have this rare opportunity to ’tour’ this city of Legend frozen in the past, are there any other places you’re particularly curious about? We can go check them out together."

And so, for the better part of the day, the group wandered through the glamorous streets and squares of Silver Radiance City.

They set foot in the grand Central Library, admired the solemn spire of the "Morning Star Archive" from afar, lingered in the marketplace filled with exquisite Magical Artifacts, and even blended into a crowd to listen in on a citizen’s forum about optimizing the city’s water supply system, held in an open-air amphitheater.

However, this superficial exploration could not hide the substantive barrier between them and the city.

Their dual identity as "outsiders" and "Observers" prevented them from entering any institution that required identity verification, and it was difficult to pry any deep information beyond daily trifles from ordinary citizens.

Silver Radiance City was too large, and beneath its orderly facade lay a strict hierarchy and information control.

By the time the sky grew dark and the crystal streetlights began to emit their soft glow one by one, the information they had gathered was mostly superficial details about the city’s layout, public services, mainstream cultural events, and some public historical records.

In the end, they randomly chose a clean and tidy-looking establishment called the "Star Dust Inn" to stay the night.

Inside the suite, everyone gathered around and began to summarize the day’s findings.

Roland listened quietly, piecing together these fragmented observations in his mind.

A city with highly advanced technology and culture, where society functioned so perfectly it felt unreal.

An "Ideal Kingdom" that seemed to have eliminated all "negativity" and "uncertainty," placing everything under precise control.

Compared not just to the cruel wasteland outside the city, but even to the Aiselon Continent as he vaguely understood it during the Crystal Era, there was a deeply unsettling disconnect.

As the group exchanged their observations, they quickly jotted down keywords and simple diagrams in the notebooks they carried.

Outside the window, the night deepened silently. The halos of the crystal streetlights cast long, serene shadows on the stone-paved road.

Seeing that it was getting late, Roland rubbed the bridge of his nose and suggested.

"We’ve learned a lot today. Let’s rest for now, get our strength back, and figure out our next move tomorrow."

His companions nodded in agreement and returned to their respective adjoining rooms.

Roland lay on the inn’s clean but slightly unfamiliar bed, not falling asleep immediately.

He mentally replayed the day’s events and observations.

The streets, so tidy they were almost rigid; the formulaic satisfaction on the citizens’ faces; the bizarre harmony of public discussions that only ever touched on "optimization" and never on "problems"...

Silver Radiance City was too perfect, so perfect it was like a meticulously polished exhibit, not a living city.

’The Upper City District... or rather, everything we’ve seen, is it just the part Silver Radiance City is willing to show?’

’To touch this city’s ’truth,’ to glimpse the core secrets of its operation, and even to find a clue to break the current Space-Time stalemate, perhaps I need to go to the places it doesn’t want to be seen.’

He recalled passing some sealed gates leading to lower-level areas the day before, and the occasional hushed mentions of "down below" by citizens, their expressions a mixture of contempt, fear, and profound secrecy.

’The Lower City District.’

Roland repeated the name in his mind, having made his decision.

His chaotic thoughts were finally dragged into oblivion by exhaustion, and he unknowingly drifted off to sleep.

However, this sleep did not bring the peace and recovery it should have.

When consciousness returned, the soft mattress he expected was not supporting his body. Instead, he felt the hard, flat touch of stone pavers beneath his feet.

A cool morning breeze brushed against his cheek, the air a mix of the aroma of bread from a breakfast stall and the faint sound of horses and carriages.

Roland’s eyes snapped open.

He was not in his inn room but standing beside a wide street.

Beside him, well-dressed early morning pedestrians streamed by endlessly.

The sunlight wasn’t harsh, perfectly illuminating the iridescent facades of the buildings on both sides of the street.

Then, a crisp and energetic cry, like the swing of an impossibly precise pendulum, rang in his ears.

"Extra! Extra! The *Silver Radiance Morning News*! Latest special edition! Come and get it, only two Copper Radiance Coins a copy!"

The loop had not stopped.