Welcome to Rewind World Game-Chapter 1452 - 101: Welcome to the New World
Su Ming’an stood still, the river breeze lifting his black coat, his thin robe contrasting sharply with others’ down coats.
He heard a cacophony of voices, the embodiment of this era:
"...So annoying, working overtime again until so late today."
"...Let’s go for all-you-can-eat barbecue this weekend; a new place opened near the school gate."
"...Broke again, sigh, if the ’Ming’an System’ gave me a higher evaluation score, I could find a better job."
"...Bought a few emotion needles online, if my children and grandchildren remain ungrateful, I’ll show them an emotional overload..."
"...O Creator God, I faithfully worship you. If you truly exist, please transfer ten million to my account..."
Su Ming’an silently walked by.
People know deities exist in this world, but people have never seen one, only dazzling speculative literature like ’Overbearing Creator Falls in Love with Me’ or ’One day I picked up a ring of a god’, stirring their hearts and desires.
"...Are you sad?" At this moment, Su Ming’an heard a voice.
He turned back, seeing a white-haired girl sitting in a wheelchair, a white magnolia resting on her knees, her expression tranquil.
"Seed".
It can blend into Luowasha, it can blend into his small world.
"...What should I call you?" Su Ming’an said.
The white-haired girl still smiled without aggression: "Xi Li. Just Xi Li."
She raised her head, looking at the night markets on both sides. She rubbed her hands, looked at him, looked at him again, looked at him once more.
Su Ming’an intuitively understood what she was thinking, after three seconds of silence, he spoke under her longing gaze: "...I’ll treat you."
The evening breeze swept over the lake surface, the green willows and white hair fluttering together.
Su Ming’an and Xi Li walked together by the lake, the breeze at the lake’s edge lifting their clothes.
Candied haws, grilled corn, pudding cakes... The white-haired girl’s mouth was small, yet like a Taotie’s mouth, food rapidly disappeared between her lips.
Moments later, she seemed to realize something, her shoulders suddenly stiff, she cautiously glanced at him: "...Did I spend all your money?"
Su Ming’an snapped his fingers, stacks of bills appeared in his pocket, saying lightly: "Buy whatever, spend however."
As a creator, he could afford to be indulgent.
Xi Li smiled back, her eyes bursting with light.
After a while, Su Ming’an asked the question he wanted to know: "...Xi Li, why did you choose to take human form?"
"For you."
"Me?"
"Yes. Over four billion cycles, you attracted my attention, I was no longer satisfied with merely observing, I wished to come to your side. I’m curious about how you can be so strong."
"Did you find the answer?"
Xi Li smiled as she swallowed the pudding, gulping it down, her voice clear:
"Because you are you, Su Ming’an."
"Those beautiful things, are all the things that flow within your veins. As long as you live, they won’t leave for a moment."
Su Ming’an’s pupils slightly contracted, and after a moment he asked: "Can your legs be healed?"
"No." Xi Li nibbled on ginseng grilled cold noodles: "As ’Xi Li’, I can only endure bullying and discrimination, unable to fight back even with broken legs. Only as ’Xi Li’s sister’, can I rise from suffering and challenge the oppressor."
"Wouldn’t that be quite divided?" Su Ming’an said: "Don’t you hate it?"
Xi Li took a bite of dorayaki, revealing half of the bean paste filling: "...What is hate? I don’t hate, I just act according to the character setting. It’s the ’seed’s’ survival law. I can be ’the bullied adopted demon girl’, or ’the awakened Rin Clan avenger’, but I just can’t be myself."
Her hand brushed over her chest:
"Because ’seed’ has no color and no form."
"I am nothing, I cannot become anyone."
It rained by the lake.
The lake surface formed rain pits, like silk pierced through.
Su Ming’an intended to create an umbrella but suddenly felt emptiness overhead. He looked up, seeing a sea of white.
——A huge, soft, snow-white tail.
The empty wheelchair slid aside, a massive white fox seated on the ground, its head lowered to watch him. The tail shielding above him, sheltering from wind and rain.
The lakeside was remote, having already walked far from the commercial street, no one saw this wondrous scene.
Lake shore, green willow, broken bridge, white fox and the young man, as if the mythical stories of an ancient country.
A fluffy paw lightly placed in front of Su Ming’an.
Understanding Xi Li’s meaning, Su Ming’an placed his hand on her paw, one big and one small hand gently holding.
"Can you shake hands with me? I’ve never experienced it before, no one dares touch me." Xi Li’s voice was very small.
"Sure." Su Ming’an shook the fluffy paw of the white fox.
"Can you touch my face?"
Su Ming’an patted the soft cheek of the white fox.
"Can... can you hug me?" The white fox’s voice grew quieter, seemingly lacking confidence. She faced too much discrimination, too much.
Su Ming’an opened his arms, generously offering a hug, enveloped in snow white.
The white fox’s tail wagged, seeming very happy.
"I’ve never had milk tea, Luowasha doesn’t have authentic milk tea, I don’t know why you players drink so happily, can you create a cup of genuine milk tea for me?"
"Sure."
"Fermented taro balls too."
"Okay."
"Chocolate mousse too."
"Okay."
"Plum blossom cake too..."
Around the white fox, snacks gradually piled up increasingly. She lowered her fluffy ears, stuffing them all into her mouth, eating while suddenly two drops of tears fell.
"What’s wrong?"
"I just suddenly understood..." the white fox whispered: "Suddenly understood why some people cry tears of happiness when tasting something delicious. Understood why some people cry when meeting very good people. Over four billion times... four billion times! I’ve only watched, only lonely watched..."
...Hui Bai you’re truly not human.
Born and left, leaving a child imprisoned, it’s unimaginable how much loneliness Xi Li endured.
"It’s alright now." Su Ming’an patted her fur: "...It’s alright now."
For an instant, he seemed to see a personified warm smile on the white fox’s face, saw Xi Li’s pale petite face.
For some reason, a slight sadness occupied his heart.
"Can I ask a question?" Su Ming’an suddenly said.
Xi Li looked at him.
"Sique once told you: ’Say hello to Miss Lin Wang’an for me.’," Su Ming’an said: "Can you tell me who ’Lin Wang’an’ is?"
Xi Li lowered her eyelids: "She... is my mother, also the one who broke my legs."
...As expected, it seems Lin Wang’an must have a special identity to travel through at such an early time point. But although Lin Wang’an is insane, she’s not foolish and probably wouldn’t do something harmful to herself. If Su Ming’an fails, she won’t survive either.
Raindrops fell with a pitter-patter, and the white tail was wet and weighed down, just as Su Ming’an was about to leave, the White Fox suddenly said:
"Please don’t leave."
"I really enjoy watching the rain and hearing the lake drip-drip-drop."
"Can you stay with me for a while, just a little while? If you leave... I’ll be alone again."
Su Ming’an saw her fluffy paw extended, hesitated for a moment, and slowly sat down.
With a ’whoosh,’ the fur was soft, and he sank into it. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
Gaining favor with the ’seed’ is also part of the strategy...
"Are you bored? I can sing for you," Xi Li said.
Su Ming’an took out a stringed instrument to respond.
This instrument was the "Love Angel’s Lyra (Excluded Level)," and holding it, Su Ming’an instinctively learned to play the strings without activating any equipment skills, just playing normally.
Moments later, accompanied by the string music, a girl’s gentle voice like a wandering ghost, a naturally blossomed elf resonated by the lakeside:
"Daisies gently sway in the spring breeze,"
"In the green fields, unconstrained and free,"
"Floating in the azure sky, wingless bird, body light, soaring freely."
"Unbound and unrestricted. Paper as wings, words as songs."
"Flying over mountains, across oceans. Roaming freely in psalms, splashing ink, a long gallery of poetry and painting."
"Oh wingless bird, oh bird, what do you use as wings, and to which paradise do you fly..."
This was the most ethereal song Su Ming’an ever heard.
Xi Li’s once extremely innocent poems had turned into a clear song over countless long years.
The singing, accompanied by the instrument, undulated on the lake surface.
The gigantic White Fox curled up with the black-haired Creator God, quietly lying under the misty rain. The Creator played the strings, dandelion-like white fluff floated like snow to all directions.
This night in the small world was extraordinarily tranquil, extraordinarily gentle.
...
Luowasha, Hell Plane, Fallen Land.
The sky burned with dark flames, the ground was like tar, covered with black moss and scorched fragments.
Arrays and candle flames surrounded the burning, wafting scents of essential oils and fragrances. In the center of the array, a pitch-black phantom slowly took shape, opening its blood-red pupils.
"...God of Chaos, Augustine." Outside the array, the black-robed Noel slightly lifted his head, revealing a smile: "I beseech you, grant me the strength to counter everything."
He stretched out his right hand, pressing it to his chest:
"For this—I offer my life, my everything."
From the array, the phantom slowly stepped out and merged into Noel’s body.
Noel’s body trembled, he covered his cheek, his shoulders shaking violently.
After dozens of seconds, he straightened his spine, showing his right hand—with a blooming Blue Rose, ten sparse petals.
An indistinct male-female voice came:
"Each time you unleash an attack beyond the limit, a petal on the back of your hand will fall."
"When the petals are all gone, it will be the time your life withers."
"Then, I will seize your body."
"Until then, you can burn freely... let this world become your color."
"Also, the ’Piano Music Box’ you asked me to create, it is finished, hold onto it."
The voice fell silent.
A delicately crafted music box appeared in the air, a black and white piano stood inside the box, automatically playing piano pieces like "Moonlight" and "To Alice." Beside the piano keys was a crystal figure gently moving its fingers with the music, with black glass eyeballs, wearing a blue gemstone layered bow tie, dressed in a white suit, crystal tresses curled like flying birds. There stood other crystal figures too, one with white hair and green eyes, one with black hair and eyes, another with blue hair and eyes...
Noel picked up the music box, a smirk softened his lips.
"Very impressive." He cheerfully evaluated.
Under the sky burning with dark flames, he bore a sickle white as bones, his golden hair fluttering, his steps lively.
"Then, let the performance begin." He pinched a playing card with his index finger, brought it to his lips:
"—The century’s finest magician. Noel Agnini."
"Welcome to the new world."
He turned back, looking in your direction, showing a brilliant smile:
...
"My dear audience."
...
"Let me go—let me go—!" Wang Chaoze struggled continuously, yet was bound by a cerulean chain.
Similar to him, hundreds of Players were bound by chains, among whom were Feng Sheng, Li Dan, Qiao Cheng, Shire, believing that "the world game should not end."
"Let us go, why are you capturing us!"
"The world game shouldn’t end anyway! Even if we win in the end, what’s the use? The world still belongs to those people, nothing will change, better to stay in the game!"
"Black Robed Man, didn’t you support us? Why are you capturing us!"
The golden-haired one in the robe, holding hundreds of cerulean chains, effortlessly traversed streets and alleyways. Wrapped in an invisible barrier, no one noticed them.
The golden-haired one ascended a golden bell tower—the tallest bell tower in No.1 Experimental City, visible from every corner.
Then, with a smile on his lips, his fingers tapped consecutively, summoning a huge camera, aiming it at himself.
Wang Chaoze was about to curse when a small white knife pressed against his throat, forcing him to quiet down.
The golden-haired one toyed with the knife, his index finger placed before his lips: "Shhh... be careful I don’t hold steady."
Then the golden-haired one turned and adjusted the camera, preparing for a world-class performance.
...
Small world.
Amidst the patter of rain, Su Ming’an drank the wine.
...
[Dream of Deceit (Excluded Level): "Crime and hatred sing together, love and beauty perish alike."]
[Active Skill (Drunk, Dreams, and Death): Drink the liquid in the cup and enter the ’Drunk Dream’ state, vaguely foreseeing things of interest. After waking, you’ll enter a ’Minor Drunk’ state lasting a period, with all stats drastically reduced, duration tied to the dream’s significance. The liquid in the cup accumulates, when full can be consumed again.]
[Note: Drop from the Deceit Demon Evelyn.]
...
With Xi Li’s help, he’s about to dream.
A dream... about the origin of Luowasha after a hundred million people leave.
"The rain’s getting heavier..." he looked at the lake, slowly closing his eyes.
Hoping tomorrow will be a sunny day.
