This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 1083 Divine Game My World 28 Mountain Isles
"I wonder what she will write next." Watching the scene before her, Foolishness lifted her glass of juice and clinked it lightly against Deceitful Bloom’s.
Deceitful Bloom was using one of her top tier items to choose today’s meal. "Who knows."
Foolishness glanced at BS Rita, already deep into writing another civilization. "She is not trying to trigger Moon Courier again?"
Deceitful Bloom paused, selected a dish she did not actually want, slid it over to Foolishness, then ordered something new for herself before answering. "Who knows."
...
The atmosphere aboard the war cruise ship felt strange.
Strictly speaking, it had felt strange ever since BS Rita left.
Players who had already lost their qualifications and switched to spectator mode did not count. Fat Goose, for example, had given up completely from day one.
But even the players who used to be highly active were acting oddly. It was like a room full of competition math students suddenly zoning out. Most players, after clearing their invasion duel limits, sometimes without even clearing them, would head to the deck to look at the scenery and chat.
Everyone was tacitly waiting for the next world dock to appear, passing the time by talking about their shattered worlds.
Players naturally formed small groups based on how deep their grudges ran, taking turns listening and speaking.
During moments like these, those whose worlds had not died were quietly pushed aside.
Lania Kaia Wither, Verdant Whisper Windrush, Yet Orange Pomango, and Winter Sea Frenzied Shark huddled together for warmth.
Winter Sea Frenzied Shark pointed at Tingo JE, who was walking with his arm around Crab’s shoulders not far away, and asked in disbelief, "Why is he allowed to blend in?"
The other three turned their heads at the same time and stared at him in silence. The look was obvious. Tingo JE was already miserable enough.
Winter Sea Frenzied Shark understood the message. Before he could respond, their gazes shifted again, equally in sync, slowly scanning him from head to toe.
And why are you here?
Winter Sea Frenzied Shark crossed his arms and leaned against the railing, expressing his stance through silence and resistance.
He did not want to talk about Mountain Isles.
Mountain Isles was a world so foolish it bordered on absurd.
The chatter around them abruptly fell quiet. Winter Sea Frenzied Shark knew what that meant and immediately looked toward the far end of the River of Time.
A moon remained, reduced to the outline of mountain ridges.
Mountain Isles.
Mountain Isles and Sharkfin.
At first glance, the world and the race seemed completely mismatched.
In truth, they fit together as if made for each other.
Mountain Isles was a vast water world, its sea surface dotted with countless small mountains rising above the waves. This was the home of the Sharkfin.
Mountains and islands, and us Sharkfin who turn into sharks once we enter the sea.
Every Sharkfin, upon growing up, would find a Mountain Isles of their own. We lived alone on our islands, living our own lives.
We were busy.
Diving into the deep sea to find seeds, studying them, cultivating them, decorating our Mountain Isles. Occasionally visiting another Sharkfin’s island, occasionally inviting others to come admire our plants.
As long as we managed to grow something other Sharkfin could not, a new plant, fruit, or tree, we would be happy for an entire year.
Our greatest lifelong passion was decorating our Mountain Isles, and we never worried that once we died, some other Sharkfin would benefit from our island.
No, they would not. Mountain Isles had a will of its own.
When a Sharkfin who had tended her island died, her Mountain Isles would sink into the sea together with her, as she reverted to her shark form.
That was our race.
Every day of our lives was spent beautifying our home, and that home would become our coffin after death. That single sentence summed up our entire existence.
Peaceful and content. Watching the sun rise and set, sometimes I truly could not tell what time even meant.
I wondered what the new seeds I had picked up would grow into. Would they become conscious little companions, or a new kind of fruit tree? If they were rare enough, I could invite other Sharkfin to visit my Mountain Isles.
I lived each day in anticipation, and when the seeds finally bloomed and bore fruit, I would feel surprise and satisfaction.
You could say a Sharkfin’s life was a cycle of anticipation and reward.
We had little competition and little worry. When we were hungry, we hunted in the deep sea. That was the only time we needed to fight.
...Or so it used to be.
That used to be the only time we fought.
Something went terribly wrong with the world, and suddenly, we became players.
At first, this was wonderful. With our newly awakened abilities, we could cultivate even more plants and make our Mountain Isles even more beautiful.
Then one day, I was ordered to invade another world.
Invade?
I was taken away from my Mountain Isles.
Everyone said it was for the future of Mountain Isles.
We were handed weapons and equipment, and we began slaughtering beings that looked much like us. Even children were not spared, because no one knew whether the other side’s abilities might be lethal.
I felt like a tree or flower rotting from the roots up.
Of course I knew Sharkfin would never torment our own kind like this unless there was absolutely no other choice.
I looked at the companions beside me, their expressions numb. I knew they felt the same.
We were not fools. We knew something unimaginably terrible must have happened.
After that, many of our kin collapsed. They refused to keep invading, and we also refused to accept outsiders joining Mountain Isles.
How were we supposed to accept them? We had just slaughtered countless beings exactly like them.
The war paused for about half a year, drowned in the cries of our own people.
Then it was Mountain Isles that was invaded.
So this was how it worked.
Refuse to invade other worlds, and a stronger world would invade you instead.
Only one Sharkfin leader remained in the sky, standing at the front. The other four had already fallen. One lay quietly beside me.
I knew her. She had once invited me to visit her Mountain Isles to see the camellias she had cultivated. Around her waist was still the Spring Scenery and Flowers I had gifted her.
"Expel him and his world, and we will grant Mountain Isles fifty years of peace and stability."
The enemy’s promise echoed across the battlefield.
It was a lie.
Mountain Isles and Sharkfin both knew it was a lie. We were not fools.
Yet when the system prompt appeared, asking whether we agreed to exile him, the approval rate instantly exceeded seventy percent.
Perhaps survival truly mattered more than how one lived. But the Sharkfin no longer wanted to live like this.
Endless pain and numbness, days filled with slaughter and hatred. My heart had grown as barren as my long neglected Mountain Isles.
What a terrifying future.
No, I did not want to live like that.
Which sounded better?
Sharkfin Clan committed mass suicide out of fear during an invasion.
Or Sharkfin Clan was slain by their leader after betraying him.
No matter how you looked at it, the latter sounded better.
If that leader truly understood Sharkfin and Mountain Isles, then please let those of us who made this choice sink into the sea together with Mountain Isles.
Mountain Isles
