CHAPTER 1647: CHAPTER 704: THE CORE OF THE CLOCK MECHANISM_2

"What do you mean by not broken?" Mu You asked, even if these clocks were taken down, they were still stationary.

"These clocks are running normally. The reason you can’t see them move is because time in this city doesn’t flow linearly. It’s chaotic and jumps. Every so often, everyone randomly jumps to another point in time. Of course, the jumps aren’t too large, definitely within five hours back and forth."

After Vivian finished explaining, she glanced at the clocks in their hands: "So, remember the time on your clocks right now. If you suddenly find everyone else gone and only you left in place, it means your time has jumped. What you need to do is immediately set your clocks back to the current time, so you can return."

"Oh?"

Mu You raised an eyebrow, interested that the clocks in their hands directly determined the timeline they were on. This mechanism was quite fascinating.

"What if I carry two clocks and set them to different timelines?" Lin Xue asked.

Vivian shook her head, "No matter how many clocks you carry, only the first clock you picked up in the city represents your time. Until that clock is lost, the others don’t count."

"Got it." Lin Xue nodded.

"Let’s go." Vivian continued to lead the way.

The three of them silently noted the time on their clocks and followed behind.

Soon, the four of them reached the front of the city.

There were no guards as expected at the city gate, and the gate was wide open.

The three followed Vivian straight into the city.

The city was densely and chaotically built, surprisingly inhabited by many people.

However, none of them were normal humans. They were ’Clockwork People’: bodies like humans, men and women of all ages, with clocks replacing their original heads.

The time displayed on each Clock Person’s head was different. The four walked in boldly as everyone around continued their mechanical work—carrying, repairing, painting—without a single one looking at them, like puppets on strings.

Besides these Clock People, some Smoke Beasts with human upper bodies and smoky lower bodies could be faintly seen on the nearby streets.

Mu You recognized these creatures; they were called Time Administrators, a type of Smoke Beast. They had once hunted Zuo Qiu and Red Sleeve and now appeared in the City of Time, which wasn’t surprising.

At the moment, these Time Smoke Beasts were embodying overseers, wielding Giant Axes and whips, floating throughout the city, supervising other Clockwork People at work.

If any slackers were found, they’d immediately rush forward and furiously whip them until the slackers resumed work.

"What are these..." Mu You looked at Vivian with a strange expression.

"These Clockwork People are actually those who inadvertently entered here for various reasons."

"Oh?"

"Creatures accidentally entering without guidance easily get lost in the time rules here. Unable to escape for a long time, they gradually lose themselves, their heads turning into clocks, eventually forgetting their identities and becoming slaves to the City of Time, working tirelessly for the city..." Vivian’s tone held a bit of lament.

"How do you know all this..." Mu You was a bit puzzled.

While it was one thing for Vivian to claim familiarity with the city’s mechanisms, knowing so much about the origins of the Clockwork People...

Considering she also claimed to have mistakenly entered the Heart of Time, could it be...

Vivian sighed and said, "Because I, too, once became a Clockwork Person."

"Ah..." The three looked at her with some surprise.

"How did you turn back?" Mu You asked.

Vivian had just mentioned that turning into a Clockwork Person meant having to work here forever, yet her soul was intact, indicating she had certainly found a way to escape at the time.

"Not all Clockwork People must stay here. Some have a strong survival instinct and get a chance to enter the ’Time Cage’. If they can complete the Heart of Time’s trial and come out alive, they can regain their original form and receive some special abilities," Vivian explained.

"Time Cage?"

"It’s the core of this city and the place I will take you today. If you want to merge with the Time Divine Bone, it’s a place you must enter." Vivian looked at Mu You.

Mu You nodded. Clearly, Vivian had successfully passed this trial, and the ability she gained was her passive time-responsive ability.

Of course, Mu You also understood that this trial must be extremely difficult, not something ordinary people could achieve, otherwise people with Vivian’s time-responsive ability would be everywhere.

"Let’s go."

Vivian led the three into the city, giving them one last reminder before leaving.

"Remember, if any Clockwork People talk to you, no matter what they say or ask you to do, don’t respond. Pretend you don’t see them and quietly walk away."

The three did not ask why and simply nodded, following Vivian.

As Mu You walked a few steps, he felt the light and shadow around him shift.

Looking up, he was still in the same place, but Vivian and the others were nowhere to be seen, and the positions of the Clockwork People had changed slightly.

Mu You instinctively glanced at the clock in his hand.

Sure enough, his time had jumped from 3:40 to 3:10, moving back half an hour.