Chapter 155

155 Chaotic Time

Selma Payne’s POV:

This would allow us to rescue them in time.

In addition, the mark also had a simple communication function. It would glow when it was stained with blood, and others could receive a signal through this point.

Perhaps we’d accidentally broken through some ‘barrier’, and the cave had become deeper. It was three times longer than the time I spent exploring the cave, but there was still no signal from Frank.

According to the plan, the next group would set off at this time.

However, after the same time had passed for the second team, there was still no signal, not even from Frank’s team.

The temperature was even lower now, and everyone trembled visibly. We had no choice but to put on the assault suits from the ‘base’s’ resources, but the effect was insignificant.

The third group set off.

This time, a signal came in half the time. The mark was only glowing and not burning, which meant that one of the teams had safely found some clues.

According to our plan, everyone else could set off now, and only my group was left.

We didn’t know what was going on ahead. We tried to bring food, water, and other supplies to be safe.

The deep cave grew darker and darker. I even had a strange feeling that this darkness wasn’t due to the lack of light but rather the inferior quality of the ‘server’ itself.

The people who made this place didn’t program the lighting well.

After only twenty minutes, we encountered an unexpected group – Frank’s group.

“I thought Sam’s group would be first.” He was also shocked. “You guys changed the order?”

“No, the order hasn’t changed. We’re the last group.” I was sure that I didn’t meet anyone on the way or encounter any forks.

Frank looked at the time and frowned. “Wait, how long have you been waiting?”

“Almost three hours.”

“But we’ve only left for less than an hour.” He showed me his watch.

I also showed him my watch, and the different hands made our hearts sink.

“The law of time is chaotic here,” I said irritatedly. “Maybe the law of space is not working, or we would have passed the first two groups. Did you see a fork in the road?”

“No, I haven’t.”

As expected, this was a poor-quality ‘server’. Even the most basic framework was not built.

This might be good news because it meant that we could find the ‘server’s’ bugs, but at the same time, it was bad news. The people who built the ‘server’ obviously didn’t put much effort into it and didn’t care about our lives.

The experienced Frank quickly came up with a solution. “From now on, we’ll leave a mark on the rock wall every five minutes, indicating that we’ve met and our respective times. Maybe the other groups can see it. This will help them discover the problem and catch up with us.”

As he spoke, the mark glowed again.

“Did you guys send out a signal just now?” I asked.

“No,” said Frank, shaking his head.

My group hadn’t reached the agreed time yet.

This meant someone from the other two groups had already sent a signal. One of the groups was faster than all the other groups, while the other group was slower than that group, slower than Frank and my group.

My group waited for more than three hours, but less than an hour passed for Frank’s group. This meant that my group’s time was faster than Frank’s group’s.

I didn’t know if the time would be the same when we met. For now, I could only mark the walls, as Frank said.

I suggested, “Let’s do it this way. We can make a serial number on the mark and get the other two groups to send the signal according to their group number and the serial number of the mark. If the second group reached the first mark, he would have them flash the mark twice, then once again. The second mark would flash twice, then twice again, and so on. We’ll use this to calculate our time difference.”

“Good idea.”

We’d leave the first number. My time was 10:30, and Frank’s was 8:40.

The difference between us was one hour and fifty minutes.

For the second number, I counted that five minutes had passed, but the time on my watch was already 10:45, and Fred’s time was 8:45.

“Your time flow is normal,” I said. “Ours has become faster.”

“It looks like it, but it has only been an hour and forty-five minutes since we set off. You’re two and a half times faster than me.

“Furthermore, the time flow rate between us is increasing. My time is flowing exponentially faster.”

This was not good news. Although there were no ominous signs so far, the problem of the time was not small. The unexpected premonition was getting stronger and stronger.

At this moment, the mark flashed again.

This time, it flashed three times, indicating that it was the second group. However, it blinked four more times!

The fourth?

But we hadn’t even made the fourth mark yet!

We were all stunned.

A terrifying silence spread, and Dorothy said dryly, “If I haven’t forgotten what I’ve learned in kindergarten, we’ve only just left the second mark, right?”