"......"

In Jiang Ye's mind, Li Si's theory of "those not of our kind must have different intentions" immediately came to mind.

Extending that logic, another truth easily emerged—

In this world, only I am "normal."

Anyone different from "me" is abnormal.

Feeling perfectly normal himself, Jiang Ye deliberately shifted his gaze back and forth between Du Yuheng and He Yuliang.

That look clearly said—Who should I kill first?

He Yuliang keenly sensed the danger, his entire body instantly tensing up.

He frantically urged Du Yuheng, "Bro, don't get me killed!"

In his heart, he thought that Du Yuheng, having experienced so many reincarnation dreams, should have many trump cards and wouldn't die so easily, right?

How had he fallen into the predicament of "die immediately if you don't tell the truth, die with high probability even if you do tell the truth"?

Wait, no! This guy must be faking it! He loves playing dumb and eating the tiger too much!

He Yuliang had just comforted himself inwardly.

Then he saw Du Yuheng, as if unable to withstand the pressure and fearing Jiang Ye would erase him the next second, quickly speak up, concise and to the point:

"I possess a special talent that can activate a 'Deduction Mode' for me."

"In 'Deduction Mode,' I can predict events that will happen from the present moment of 'Deduction Mode' onward for a period of time."

"I entered this Blood Pool during a 'Deduction Mode.' So when facing the Blood Pool in reality, I dared to jump in without any reservations."

Deduction Mode...

Jiang Ye wasn't too suspicious of this claim.

After all, after Cheng Lin's [Salvation Domain] reached SSS-grade, it also had an "Enlightenment Mode" and a "Deduction Mode."

Although he himself hadn't had time to test the effects of that "Deduction Mode" due to a lack of test subjects.

But Du Yuheng's description of "Deduction Mode" was quite similar to his own speculation about it.

However, what Du Yuheng had revealed wasn't enough.

This only explained why he dared to jump directly into the Blood Pool.

He should understand that what Jiang Ye truly wanted to ask about was information related to Li Si.

And Jiang Ye was already highly suspicious that Du Yuheng knew Li Si.

Therefore, Jiang Ye didn't say much, just quietly watched Du Yuheng.

This kind of gaze clearly conveyed dissatisfaction with his answer.

And the implication that if he couldn't provide a satisfactory answer, don't blame him for taking direct action.

Du Yuheng naturally understood the deeper meaning in his eyes and immediately continued:

"Of course, in a certain 'Deduction Mode,' I did indeed come into contact with Li Si. Not the historical Li Si, but a player named Li Si."

"This player named Li Si also possessed the ability to enter 'Deduction Mode,' and he recognized at a glance that I also had this ability."

"It might be a bit convoluted to understand—he recognized within my deduction that I had the deduction ability..."

"This realization brought me immense shock."

"After all, I always thought this 'deduction ability' was equivalent to having a dream."

"Yet the person in this dream seemed to come alive, knowing I could dream."

"I wonder if you can understand the eerie feeling I'm trying to convey?"

Putting himself in the other's shoes, Jiang Ye could somewhat understand.

He couldn't help but confirm, "Are you saying that Li Si, within your 'Deduction Mode,' recognized it was your Deduction Mode?"

"Or did he simply become aware that you possess the ability to enter 'Deduction Mode'?"

Du Yuheng hurriedly explained, "He didn't outright say it was my 'Deduction Mode.' But I genuinely felt he was acting strangely overall, as if he knew he was living inside a Deduction Mode..."

"Even his bizarre behavior made me somewhat unable to distinguish whether I was living in 'Deduction Mode' or in reality..."

This statement also shocked He Yuliang.

According to He Yuliang's understanding...

What this guy called "Deduction Mode" should be the "reincarnation dreams" he mentioned earlier.

He Yuliang felt the term "reincarnation dreams" was easier to understand.

So that meant—

In Du Yuheng's reincarnation dream...

That player named Li Si knew it was his dream, not reality?!

This...

This situation was way too bizarre!

If such a situation truly occurred...

Then were so-called "reincarnation dreams" still just simple dreams?

The people in the dream knew they were beings created by the dream?!

He Yuliang was also deeply shocked in his heart.

He inexplicably felt...

An indescribable creeping sensation.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ye, of course, had also pondered many things.

He couldn't help but suspect, what exactly was this so-called "Deduction Mode"?

Shouldn't everything in Deduction Mode be fictional?

This feeling was like...

You're intently watching TV, and suddenly a character on screen waves at you and says, "Hi, I know you're watching me on TV."

Or like...

You're reading a novel, and suddenly a character breaks from the plot, turns to you and says, "Hi, I know you're reading the version of me constructed by text :)"

Damn it! That's like forcibly breaking the fourth wall of the stage!

In reality, it might feel very jarring.

Because you know TV is acted by people, novels are written by people.

But what if the person acting on TV, the person writing the novel, is you?

In Du Yuheng's Deduction Mode, Du Yuheng should be the protagonist!

So a more accurate analogy would be—

A certain star acts in a TV drama, then while watching the drama they starred in, discovers a scene they never performed!

That character played by themselves waves from mid-air towards them...

Similarly akin to—

An author writes a novel, then while reading it themselves, discovers a passage they never wrote.

And this content is...

The protagonist waving at the author, saying—Hi, I know I live in your script...

Wasn't it exactly like that?

And such a situation was downright spine-chilling!

If Li Si within "Deduction Mode" truly knew he was living inside Du Yuheng's "Deduction Mode"...

During his contemplation, Jiang Ye suddenly remembered again...

In the very beginning, the first time he encountered the White-Robed Woman.

The White-Robed Woman crawled out of one TV screen after another, like Sadako.

And those TVs were TVs within TVs, an endless cycle of breaking through TV screens...

So, was there some connection between that infinite cycle of breaking TV screens and this so-called "Deduction Mode" now?

Hiss...

Jiang Ye pondered briefly and quickly realized—

This so-called Deduction Mode itself easily created paradoxes!

If only one person could use Deduction Mode, that would be fine.

But if multiple people could use Deduction Mode...

Then situations of multi-player games easily arise.

The world within Deduction Mode could easily become chaotic!

It's like—

Originally, the concept of "dreams" could only be created by one person.

But if there was a dream created simultaneously by multiple people...

Then this dream, controlled by multiple individuals, would have many problems, even various BUGs!

Thus, Jiang Ye couldn't help but suspect...

Could it be that Du Yuheng and Li Si experienced the same "Deduction Mode"?

If the two experienced the same "Deduction Mode" together...

Then Li Si's "abnormality" would be quite understandable.

It's like Du Yuheng thought he was having a dream.

But in reality, it was him and Li Si having that dream together.

Then Li Si in the dream didn't originate from Du Yuheng's dream.

Simultaneously, Li Si in the dream could also know it was a dream.

Because in his view, it was his dream...

However, this gave rise to a new problem—

Li Si should have only mastered "Deduction Mode" not long ago, after obtaining the [Salvation Domain] skill.

But Du Yuheng's "Deduction Mode" clearly happened much earlier.

So...

Was Li Si hiding something, having possessed the "Deduction Mode" ability even before obtaining [Salvation Domain]?

Or was it...

That "Deduction Mode" itself could overlap across time?!

For example, suppose Du Yuheng's Deduction Mode had a time span of 100 days.

While he was experiencing day 49 of his Deduction Mode, at the corresponding time node in the real world, Li Si also used "Deduction Mode."

Thus, two players using "Deduction Mode" at different time nodes met within the same "Deduction Mode"??

If so... the situation became even more complex!

Because this meant...

Within a "Deduction Mode" shared by multiple people...

Du Yuheng, located at a "past" time node, encountered Li Si from the "future"!

For Du Yuheng, this situation was still somewhat understandable.

Because what he was deducing was originally the "future."

Who he encountered was also originally the "future" Li Si.

But from Li Si's perspective, this situation was somewhat bizarre!

This was equivalent to...

Li Si from a certain "future" node encountering Du Yuheng who lived in the "past"!

If this "future" Li Si realized he was sharing the same "Deduction Mode" with Du Yuheng who lived in the "past"...

Couldn't he then try to "change the past" directly by influencing that Du Yuheng living in the "past"?!

And "changing the past" itself would create paradoxes, wouldn't it?!

For example, under the influence of "Future Version Li Si," "Past Version Du Yuheng" kills "Past Version Li Si"...

Then, "Future Version Li Si" simply wouldn't exist!

Thus, a paradox forms!

Of course, from this perspective...

The "time travel" experienced by Jiang Ye and many other players also contained paradoxes.

It's just that the two time periods seemed separated by mist, lacking strong causal connections.

That's why Jiang Ye deliberately ignored the paradox issues within.

Now, looking at the grander world-level phenomenon of "time travel"...

Then the situation of characters from multiple time nodes meeting within "Deduction Mode" might indeed exist.

In other words...

Du Yuheng truly "knew" Li Si.

But the Li Si he knew wasn't the Li Si of this time node.

But a Li Si living in the future!

Du Yuheng and Li Si, two players from different time nodes, formed a cross-time encounter within the same "Deduction Mode"!

And that future-living Li Si could directly point out that Du Yuheng was living in Deduction Mode because Li Si himself was also living in Deduction Mode.

It was a Deduction Mode shared by the two of them!

Within that shared Deduction Mode...

Li Si didn't consider Du Yuheng a fake person generated by the Deduction Mode, but directly recognized that Du Yuheng was also in Deduction Mode...

This indicated that the future Li Si likely already knew about the cross-time sharing situation of Deduction Mode!

That is...

He knew he was encountering Du Yuheng who lived in the "past"!

Then...

Would that future-living Li Si try to change something through the Du Yuheng living in the "past"?!

Thinking this way, Jiang Ye felt he had vaguely sorted out some lines of thought.

So, he directly asked Du Yuheng again:

"And then?"

"What else did that Li Si who pointed out you were living in 'Deduction Mode' say or do to you?"

Following his gradually smoothing train of thought, Jiang Ye asked this very naturally.

However...

As this question was asked.

As Du Yuheng's expression relaxed.

He suddenly realized with a jolt—

He seemed to have fallen for this kid's trick!

Sure enough, Du Yuheng didn't answer directly. Instead, he openly breathed a sigh of relief, then cautiously probed:

"Now, I shouldn't have to die, right?"

"......"

Yes.

Before, Jiang Ye could have chosen to kill Du Yuheng without hearing his answer.

But now...

After learning part of the truth, he urgently wanted to know the rest.

Thus, it wasn't appropriate to kill Du Yuheng directly anymore.

This kid...

Jiang Ye looked at him with increasingly unfriendly eyes.

Du Yuheng swallowed, his expression awkward.

Jiang Ye took a deep breath and said with certainty, "So—"

"You knew from the very beginning what was going on between you and Li Si."

"So, you used that point to deliberately pique my curiosity. Making me, for the sake of this curiosity, no longer easily choose to kill you."

Du Yuheng swallowed again, awkwardly saying:

"Actually, if you just guarantee that even if I tell the truth, you won't kill me..."

"Then, I'm also willing to reveal part of the truth to you."

"Since you've guessed the issues with 'Deduction Mode,' you should also be able to imagine how crucial that 'Li Si' I encountered is."

"......"

Jiang Ye had to admit, this kid was talented.

After a moment of silence, he asked, "If it's just a verbal promise, you probably wouldn't easily believe it."

"So, what would make you believe I won't kill you?"

Du Yuheng was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "I want to obtain the [Salvation Domain] skill first."

This guy had previously revealed having the skill [True Sight Eye].

Later, he revealed the "Deduction Mode" ability.

Jiang Ye naturally wasn't surprised he knew about his [Salvation Domain] skill.

Only...

He frowned and said, "First, my skill is currently on cooldown."

"Second, even if you get this skill, can you ensure you won't die?"

"Don't tell me after getting this skill, you'll make other demands?"