Time travel is an absolute impossibility.
Lin trusted the judgment of Mobius and Vil-V. More importantly, he trusted science.
That being the case, what he was experiencing was certainly not a reversal of time, but something else that bore a striking resemblance to it.
With that as a premise, re-examining all the information gathered so far led to a clear conclusion: he was undergoing a bizarre phenomenon similar to time travel. Within this event were two smaller sub-incidents involving consciousness erosion and murder. These two sub-incidents were not the root cause of the phenomenon; rather, the phenomenon itself was likely the root cause leading to the final massacre.
Furthermore, someone wanted him to mistakenly believe he was the mastermind behind the slaughter.
The infinitely looping time, the massacres, his deteriorating mental state...
Lin had a premonition that what he was about to face was the true reality of the entire incident. It was like peeling away the layers of a cocoon to reveal the core. What would eventually be presented to Lin might be an unbelievably treacherous and grotesque...
"Mmm-phmm..." The sound of someone unconsciously puckering their lips interrupted his train of thought. Lin turned his head to look at Mobius, who had the corners of her mouth curled up in her sleep. He didn't know what she was dreaming about, but it made her smile more happily than usual.
At this moment, Lin was sharing a bed with Mobius. Don't misunderstand—he also needed rest, and Mobius quarters were likely the safest place. At the very least, he had verified here that his consciousness had not been eroded.
Speaking of consciousness erosion, Lin had a new lead regarding Vil-V's final message.
"You... actually... consciousness..."
Vil-V had definitely seen or discovered something, and what she saw was the primary reason for her death.
This phrase, combined with the Morse code "Erosion," could have formed the clue "Consciousness Eroded." However, he now had to re-examine these words, which sounded as if they hadn't been finished.
The word "actually" carried deep meaning. It is only used when one suddenly realizes a hidden truth and negates a previous assumption. This meant that when Vil-V was killed, she had likely discovered the true cause of the entire incident.
"Consciousness"—this was the most direct clue. An event related to the mind.
And that final "You" at the beginning...
From the context, Vil-V knew her killer. Did this "You" signify her surprise at that person's appearance?
No, if that were the case, almost anyone's appearance would have surprised her.
Then, what was the deal with the "pollution" mentioned in the Morse code?
Lin had originally thought it meant the killer's consciousness was polluted, driving them to murder. But now it seemed that might not be the truth.
What "thing" was currently polluting the space?
After organizing his thoughts, Lin closed his eyes. He needed to rest for a few hours; otherwise, he would return to that state where rational thought was difficult.
Moreover, he was waiting.
He was waiting for the "First Incident" to occur.
Tonight, Lin had ordered Prometheus to protect Vil-V. He had also specifically instructed Erwin and Pardo not to leave their rooms.
Having prevented the earliest murders, only one event remained that had not resulted in casualties, and Lin allowed it to proceed.
The theft of the database.
This incident was the most incomprehensible of them all. Why would the mastermind want to take that data?
In the "second time," it was Lin who destroyed the data. He had clear memories of it; it couldn't be a mistake. Since he had verified he wasn't the mastermind, how could this event be explained?
Lin compared the differences between the first and second loops.
September 12th, First Loop: Four events occurred.
Database theft, Vil-V's murder, Erwin's murder, Pardo's murder.
September 12th, Second Loop: Two events occurred.
Database theft, Vil-V's murder.
The difference was that Erwin and Pardo survived, and Lin actions changed from resting in his room to going to the database. Therefore, the database theft could be overlooked. The main question was why Vil-V was killed both times.
Lin had gone to Vil-V the second time and warned her, yet she still died.
This wasn't a "convergence of world lines," so Vil-V's death had to have a reason.
After thinking it over, Lin could only come up with one possibility.
The mastermind believed that Vil-V would see through "His" plan.
Vil-V was a genius with an incredibly erratic way of thinking. She excelled at looking at problems from different angles, and her reservoir of knowledge allowed her to complete complex logical loops. Even as a bystander, she might have been able to figure out what was really going on.
...Perhaps a bystander was more likely to see the truth?
Lin suddenly realized that as a participant, some of his own problems seemed simple to Mobius and Vil-V—just like how Mobius had verified he wasn't the mastermind.
Then...
"Haaa... I slept so well..."
Mobius woke up slowly. She yawned as she sat up, looking blurrily at the blanket covering her.
Hmm... did I go back to bed to sleep last night?
She only remembered smelling a particularly fragrant scent when she fell asleep, and then hugging a pillow that wasn't very soft...
She scanned the room but didn't find the pillow. Of course, she shouldn't have one anyway.
"What was I doing last night?"
Mobius had low blood pressure upon waking. After spacing out for a long time, she sluggishly got out of bed to get dressed. Then, her malfunctioning sense of smell finally returned to normal, and she caught a whiff of something delicious.
A fragrance?
Mobius froze for a few seconds. She hurriedly looked around and found that the room, which had become messy under her neglect, was now much tidier. Her scattered stockings and underwear were neatly folded and put back in the wardrobe. The laundry that needed washing had been cleaned and hung up. Even the slightly damp blankets had their covers washed and replaced with fresh ones.
On the table, which had been cleaned and clearly wiped down repeatedly, sat a plate of breakfast.
After standing dazed for a full minute, Mobius face went "poof" and turned bright red.
With hindsight, she walked stiffly to the table and pulled out a chair to sit down.
What a failure.
She was supposed to wait for the morning light to mock that perpetually insecure guy to show how correct her judgment was.
But she... fell asleep.
And she was carried back to the room to sleep by Lin.
And he had seen her room in such a mess after he had once spent so much time organizing it.
Mobius covered her flushed face and ate her breakfast in silence.
It was... truly a failure.