—Jack Reeves.
Jack!!!
The na struck Zhou Chen’s mind like a bolt of lightning.
"I found Jack Reeves’s photo in the police departnt’s classified files, along with a confidential docunt issued by the FBI." Liu Ling handed him a thin file folder.
Zhou Chen opened the folder. Inside were several photos taken from different angles. So were headshots, while others were taken surreptitiously. They all showed a handso Western man with a high-bridged nose and well-defined features. He looked to be in his early thirties, with calm brown eyes and a steady, reliable air about him.
Picking up the photos, Zhou Chen looked at the confidential docunt. It contained only a few short sentences, the gist of which was: An agent from a special departnt will be investigating the recent strange cases in Akita Town. The local police departnt is to cooperate with Agent Jack Reeves’s work. Until the case is closed, Agent Jack Reeves has the highest priority in the investigation and can requisition any and all manpower and resources.
Zhou Chen then studied the photos carefully, noticing many similarities between Jack Reeves’s appearance and Old Jack’s.
They were the sa person.
In an instant, many things were explained.
Why did Old Jack’s mad ramblings hide the truth? Because he was the federal agent who had mysteriously disappeared. He knew what was happening in Akita Town all along!
But how did Jack Reeves end up like that? Why did he suddenly disappear? And why had he gone mad and aged by decades?
"Zhou Chen, you experienced an Essence Resonance phenonon before and saw Akita Town destroyed, right?" Liu Ling asked.
"Yes." Zhou Chen nodded. He had told everyone about this.
Liu Ling glanced at the Glory Colosseum in the sky. "At the end of the dream, you saw a blazing light that pierced the heavens and the earth. That light was clearly not from Natas’s Power. I’m guessing Jack Reeves unleashed it. He’s an agent who investigates Supernatural Power, so he must possess Extraordinary Power himself.
"The police departnt has Jack Reeves’s activity log from last month. It shows he was diligently investigating the case, but Akita Town was already contaminated, and he was no exception. The contamination prevented him from getting close to the truth, which is why he investigated for so long without any results.
"In the original tiline, he probably failed to stop Natas from destroying Akita Town, even at the very end. So, he used so kind of Mysterious Power to start over.
"In college, I studied the concept of ’Reboot.’ A ’Reboot’ is when the state of surrounding things is reversed, returning to a certain point in ti. It’s a bit like loading a save file in a ga. The most common examples are those Restricted Area dungeons, which remain in a constant state of ’Reboot’ until they are cleared.
"A certain B-Level Forbidden Object and so special Extraordinary Artifacts also have ’Reboot’ Skills. It’s said that a Crowned King has mastered this Ability as well."
Zhou Chen frowned. "You an... Akita Town’s Reboot wasn’t caused by the power of a Restricted Area, but by Jack using so thod similar to a ’Reboot’ to return Akita Town to its state before it was destroyed?"
"Exactly. That would explain why Jack Reeves suddenly disappeared and why he beca so old."
Liu Ling said slowly, "The ’Reboot’ he used must have a major flaw: his own state cannot be rebooted. Any injuries he suffers or the aging process won’t be reversed by the ’Reboot.’ He can only keep ’playing the ga’ until he clears it.
"But... it seems he couldn’t hold on. It’s possible he was injured during one of the loops, causing him to lose his mind. Or perhaps he absorbed too much contamination and lost his sanity. It’s also possible the long cycle of repetition eroded his mories, causing him to go mad and beco the holess Old Jack we see now.
"That’s why Jack Reeves suddenly vanished without a trace in the new loop—because he had already turned into the incoherent, holess Old Jack.
"From this, we can actually determine Akita Town’s ’save point.’ Jack Reeves disappeared eighteen days ago, which ans the save point for Akita Town is eighteen days in the past.
"Eighteen days ago, Natas’s Power wasn’t that great. If we give up on this loop, the people in the next one, with proper protection, could definitely clear it easily."
After hearing Liu Ling’s theory, Zhou Chen looked at the photo of the young, handso Jack Reeves in his hand, then thought of the holess Old Jack he had beco. He fell silent for several seconds before speaking softly:
"Why didn’t Jack just leave or call for backup?"
"That part, I don’t know." Liu Ling shook her head. "Maybe he was seriously injured in the very first loop, which caused his ntal problems... or maybe his ’Reboot’ isolated Akita Town, preventing anyone from leaving and anyone new from entering.
"Co to think of it, everything he said was the truth. He probably discovered that Father Natas was the culprit in one of the earlier loops, but why couldn’t he successfully clear it..."
"A difference in power."
Zhou Chen looked up at the Glory Colosseum and sighed softly. "To us, Father Natas from eighteen days ago isn’t much, but for Jack, he was likely a formidable enemy. Jack isn’t even an Ascender..."
As he spoke, he paused, a possibility occurring to him. "Liu Ling, go back to Joey’s House and check Old Jack’s body. I suspect he might have left a clue on himself."
Liu Ling froze for a mont. Thinking it over, she realized it was indeed a real possibility.
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