Welcome to Rewind World Game-Chapter 1543: Final - : Shoreside Arc [28] - "He Said, Once Upon a Time There Was a Savior.
In a panic, Yamada Machiichi dashed into a store on the street.
Most shops had long closed, with only a few left open. The shopkeeper, a kind old lady, was tending to some flowers. When she saw him looking so disheveled, she was surprised for a moment, then pointed to the backyard, telling him to hide in there.
Yamada Machiichi hurriedly hid inside, crouching into a bush, concealing himself completely, holding his breath.
Suddenly, a weak voice came from nearby: "...Brother, who’s chasing you?"
Yamada Machiichi almost jumped in fright. Looking closely, with short brown hair, a black headband, and shining eyes—it turned out to be Wang Xingkong.
He had randomly hidden in a place, only to find another person crouching there with him!?
"Are you here for a pull... ugh, why am I still making references at a time like this, I can’t stand anime anymore." Yamada Machiichi lowered his voice: "Wang Xingkong, why are you here?"
"I smuggled myself into Luowasha from the Disciple Game, I can’t be too conspicuous, so I hid here waiting for the ship, otherwise what if I get dragged back." Wang Xingkong blinked his big eyes: "Uh, you’re Yamada Machiichi, right? I’ve seen the photos of top players, who’s chasing you?"
"Sigh..." Yamada Machiichi sighed: "A yandere girl."
He could clearly feel Wang Xingkong’s eyes light up: "A yandere girl chasing you? Good, good."
This guy was clearly poisoned by anime, thinking it was a wonderful thing.
Yamada Machiichi was speechless for a moment, then asked: "Wang Xingkong, why are you waiting here for the ship? Isn’t it good to find Lin Yin and them? You’re quite popular in the World Game, they would protect you."
Wang Xingkong’s gaze darkened a bit: "Popularity... huh."
Is he still... being seen as an NPC?
Actually, he knew that his true self had long died, he was just a knock-off Wang Xingkong in the Disciple Game, not even knowing what he really was. What supported him up to now was his desire to return to the World Game, to find his mom and dad.
After dying suddenly from overstudying, his parents must be very worried...
So what if it’s fake? Does that mean he’s not called Wang Xingkong?
"It’s pretty much the same waiting anywhere." Wang Xingkong shrugged: "The reason I’m waiting here is because the shopkeeper here looks a lot like an old lady I know... hmm, I want to stay by her side, try to protect her, at least just this once."
"Hmm?" Yamada Machiichi was puzzled: "Do you remember things before the big reset this time?"
The old lady Wang Xingkong referred to should be an ally from the previous reset’s Disciple Game, Jia Xiqin. The two of them supported each other through many challenges, and in Wang Xingkong’s impression, the granny was like his real family.
"I remember, it should be because the end is near, with light and dark merging, I recalled a lot of past things." Wang Xingkong sighed.
Just then, Wang Xingkong’s gaze suddenly turned terrified, before Yamada Machiichi could turn around, a cold voice came from behind, with a dagger pressed against the back of Yamada Machiichi’s neck:
"Mr. Yamada, I didn’t expect you to be hiding here."
The girl’s voice was soft yet dangerous.
Yamada Machiichi immediately felt like crying without tears, how was he still caught up to?
"Just kill me..." Yamada Machiichi sighed, might as well let Zhi Fei’er stab him a few times, who told him to write all that cliché Japanese romance light novel stuff. This chase drama between a mechanical commoner protagonist and a crystal noble lady seemed inevitably heading for its conclusion.
The blade halted.
Yamada Machiichi felt a chill down his spine, he thought he was being slashed and bleeding, but soon he realized it was Zhi Fei’er’s tears.
"Hey..." Why are you crying... Yamada Machiichi waved his hands, unable to understand why she was crying, when she had finally caught up to him, able to take revenge for her mother’s murder.
Wang Xingkong watched in shock from the side, stepping back a few paces repeatedly.
The girl with flowing crystal hair cried with eyes red as a rabbit:
"I... always followed your story, on the World Tree forum."
"Ah...?" Yamada Machiichi suddenly felt exposed, flustered and at a loss.
She, she had been following his updates? So she always knew she was his female protagonist?
"I always knew you liked yanderes." Zhi Fei’er raised her voice: "I also know you killed my mother... but what should I do about that! She did so many evil deeds, killed so many people, and you, you’re the one saving the world. What side should I even take!?"
Yamada Machiichi was bewildered.
"When I first learned the truth, I was indeed immensely furious, so furious I wanted to kill you, because you both assassinated my mother and promised me you would change the decaying noble class." Zhi Fei’er, teary-eyed, gazed at him: "But on this journey, I saw you save many people, I saw civilians persecuted by my mother, I saw the tragic plight of Mechanical Race civilians, I saw you like their Savior..."
"It turns out my mother was wrong, and you were right."
"I remembered my ideals—utterly laughable in its frailty. I’ve grown to today, every sip of milk I drank was mixed with the blood of exploited dairy workers. As the daughter of a sinner, even my breath is exchanged from the oppression of numerous people, and yet I foolishly fantasized that as long as I’m with you, these could be changed..."
"I pondered for long, I should atone. But the only way I could help you is to make your story continue to be serialized, to get higher ratings from the World Tree for you. It likes dramatic plots, likes yandere chases, likes the male protagonist to be threatened with a cleaver, so I cooperated to make it happen. I thought that as long as I caught up with you, I wouldn’t resist being killed by you for this story to have an ending, also letting me atone. But, but..."
"But... why are you crying?"
For the first time, Yamada Machiichi felt as if he was becoming the protagonist of the Japanese romance light novel he had fantasized about as a child. Such a bittersweet plot, such bittersweet emotional conflict, such stomach-churning dialogue...
At the start of the instance, when he received the mission to kill Zhi Li’er, he felt uneasy. After all, Zhi Li’er is the mother of Zhi Fei’er, but she indeed committed many evil deeds. Killing Zhi Li’er would either make the female protagonist’s personality lean towards being a villain’s accomplice or towards falling in love with the enemy who killed her mother.
In the end, she neither became a villain’s accomplice nor did she develop love for the enemy. She loved and hated him.
He felt her sadness, her pain, her warm tears.
Ultimately, was he any more noble? He indeed improved social hierarchy and saved many civilians, but her pain was forever linked to him, simply because he happened to receive the system’s mission to kill her mother.
He never imagined she would always cooperate with him.
"Actually, I’ve always known you like the sickly sweet type." Zhi Fei’er looked at him: "Don’t you like it?"
Her mother had always treated her poorly, using her as a tool for alliances, something she knew.
Her mother exploited and killed many civilians, treating lives as insignificant, which she only learned about later.
Her life was monotonous and dull until someone unbelievably pulled her from the mire, showing her the vast and warm landscape, making her aware of her previous insignificance. Experiencing this feeling for the first time... she did indeed develop feelings for him.
But she didn’t dare say it out loud, not only because of guilt; there was always something between them. It wasn’t until the day of Snow of the End that she finally dared to say it all out loud.
"Lik..." Yamada Machiichi squeezed the word from between his teeth: "... like."
Like.
When he was in school, buying comics from the roadside kiosk, he really liked those female characters with different personalities, especially the explosion-type girls, envying those protagonists being chased.
He was angry at their inability to move forward, always puzzled why the protagonists wouldn’t accept them, but when it came to him, he realized that love is absent when love is absent, and responsibility is just responsibility.
"Why hide if you like? Why avoid me despite liking?" Zhi Fei’er cried.
"I really can’t, I..." Yamada Machiichi’s voice was very small. He did like such girls, but only in the second dimension.
He killed her evil mother, fulfilling her ideal of saving civilians, but he couldn’t reciprocate her feelings, causing her immense pain. At heart, his original intention wasn’t problematic, merely eradicating evil, yet she became the female protagonist of his story.
At that moment, a sound of artillery fired, a blue light streaked across the sky.
Snowflakes fluttered down, revealing an ark structured with texts soaring high in the sky, resembling a blue whale.
"Will everyone please maintain the concept of ’Strawberry Crisp’; we are about to depart..." A soft female voice echoed in the sky, the voice of the Spiritual Dream-Maker.
It’s time to depart.
"Clang——!"
Caught off guard, Zhi Fei’er suddenly stepped forward, grabbing Yamada Machiichi by the collar, kissed with tear-streaked face.
Her lips met a patch of icy skin.
Beside them, Wang Xingkong watched with eyes wide, at a loss.
Yamada Machiichi’s palm covered his lips, blocking hers, feeling his stomach twisting in pain, as if drinking a big mouthful of vinegar.
How cliché!
A cliché story, a cliché ending. He somehow found himself becoming a mere participant in the drama, unwittingly playing out the unexpected final scene.
What is this? What is this? Who could have anticipated such a development?
If outsiders saw it, surely they’d laugh in disbelief. But as an insider, Yamada Machiichi couldn’t laugh.
Her kiss gave this clichéd deadly drama a gripping ending, one that promised high ratings, yet it left his heart incredibly sour.
Until yesterday, his mind was filled with thoughts of all kinds of Japanese plot developments, but the story’s ending exceeded his expectations.
As the Creator, it’s hard not to be arrogant. He wrongly predicted his female protagonist, who had already broken free from the framework written by his pen, escaped the dense pile of textual graves, standing before him, pointing at him, loudly with love declaring — Creator, you were wrong.
She wasn’t some "flat sickly sweet deadly type girl," but "Zhi Fei," she was "Zhi Fei’er."
This girl who could both love and hate was like a flame, revealing his pain unmistakably, yet for the first time, ignited the heart of the mere spectator, burning to the point he couldn’t endure its warmth.
A girl’s kiss, a scrambled life.
An unintended love, a mistaken... story.
"I’m sorry..." he said.
He couldn’t accept her kiss. Clearly, in front of him was the type of female character he liked immensely in his youth, yet, in his heart, aside from pity and guilt, there was no admiration, only anticipation and contemplation for the future of this small world.
A plain and ordinary teenager, after being at the top of the player list for too long, finally, like that fellow Su Ming’an, was changed by responsibility.
She chuckled, speaking quickly: "Earlier, I really wanted to murder you; it wasn’t love that stopped me but seeing firsthand on the road how many people you saved."
"Heh... Be grateful! If you had accepted my affection at the beginning, I would have stabbed you. Luckily, you constantly rejected my love, helping countless civilians along the way, which made me realize you were a good person, unworthy of being killed. Until I fell for you..."
"You do this to craft better stories, to gain more Points, to save people... What am I supposed to do about it..."
"I love you, I hate you..." She bit her lip:
"I love you, I hate you."
Snow began to fall.
The warmth slid slowly down Yamada Machiichi’s hand, like a tail of a slipping swallow.
He stared wide-eyed in shock, as the girl before him gradually became transparent, her smile turning increasingly bitter yet relieved, her body slowly softening and sliding down.
He suddenly looked up, seeing the falling snow passing through her transparent form.
She... she wasn’t protected by the Strawberry Crisp—her Spiritual Energy wasn’t adequate!?
Her life was too thin, her Spiritual Energy far insufficient.
So, was this why she said those things today?
Yamada Machiichi felt a pain in the back of his neck, she seemed to have placed something there.
More snow fell on his forehead.
"Is there... still a chance! Can Spiritual Energy be boosted now? I have many interesting stories here!" He instinctively wanted to hold on, even if not out of love, at least as a basic instinct to preserve a life.
She shook her head.
Spiritual Energy is accumulated over time, it’s too late.
"Then how about I give you my seat on the boat? I’m strong enough, perhaps I can take refuge with Lin Yin temporarily; you’re melting so quickly..." Yamada Machiichi hurriedly suggested.
"It won’t work..."
"Then I’ll take you to the underground where snow doesn’t fall!"
"That wouldn’t cover it."
"I’ll take you to the deepest seabed; I know a super-powerful Sea Emperor!"
"It won’t work..."
"I’ll use my body as a shield for you; if I shield you, the snow won’t touch you..."
She looked at him, her eyelashes trembling.
She seemed very tired, like she was about to fall asleep.
Her fingers lightly tapped his neck, feeling like crystal.
"This is the Elemental Crystal I possess as a member of the Crystal Clan; I’m giving it to you." Zhi Fei’er said, biting her lip: "You’ll find a use for it."
Yamada Machiichi touched it.
...
[Elemental Crystal (Purple Grade): "Someone constantly speaks of death, not in expectation of it, but in longing for love."]
[Type: Summoning Item]
[Content: Crush it to quickly summon hundreds of Crystal Elves to fight for you. You can select a location to throw it, altering the summoning spot.]
[Note: An item she never parted with.]
...
"This is..." Yamada Machiichi realized this item was very precious, likely her means of self-defense.
In the end, she gave it to him.
Her life was thin like paper, beginning with the doctrinal upbringing from an aristocratic family, as bland as a straight line. The only thing that caused ripples in this line was meeting him.
This beginning of a misguided tale was the most beautiful part of her life.
Every unintentional twist he caused was the most exciting part of her life.
If it weren’t for him, she might never have uncovered her mother’s sins, remained in her gilded cage, until the moment the snow claimed her life.
He made her wake up, and he made her suffer.
He made her hate and love him.
"Hoo..."
Her hands circled his neck, her breath guided his heartbeat. He had never been this close to a girl, but in his heart, there was no trace of romance.
"Say ’goodbye’ to me, will you?" she whispered, her breath growing lighter as her body became more transparent.
Gently, Yamada Machiichi opened his mouth, his lips aching as if tearing.
At that moment, he actually wished she were a crazed yandere rather than so innocent, because a yandere filled with extreme emotions likely had sufficient Spiritual Energy.
"Good..." bye.
Burning liquid blocked his lips.
He didn’t know whose tears they were.
Ah, not tears, but a river.
He saw a blurry river.
That was... the river he crossed daily during high school, snow-white water flowing loudly, streaming from one end of his vision to the other, with no footsteps able to stop it, only ever rushing, always only rushing.
Every time he saw that river, he felt an urge to dive in and end his life of bullying. Then as the World Game began and he met people like Su Ming’an, his eyes gradually took on color, and he learned to wade across the river with bare feet, and that river vanished from his mind.
Yet now, he saw that river rush at him again.
Every word the girl spoke blocked his breaths like the river, turning each breath bitter, her voice squeezing his chest with waves, making him ache until her head gently drooped down, until her heartbeat gradually slowed and stopped—the river finally submerged his head.
"I chased you with a hatchet for so long, moved in all the ways you liked from yandere literature, did you... ever like me?"
Whoosh, whoosh.
"I..."
Whoosh, whoosh.
"Even just a little?" she asked.
Whoosh, whoosh.
"Um..."
Whoosh, whoosh.
"Just a tiny bit?"
"..."
She insisted on an answer while he remained silent.
The river drowned him.
"...Mm."
He finally uttered a mixed sound, seeming like affirmation, but in truth, it was just an insignificant syllable.
She leaned closer to him, the final sounds mixing with the coldness of the snow, slowly melting.
She smiled at him, just a gaze found the river in his eyes.
Ultimately, only some tears remained.
"...Liar."
She saw through his kind lie, holding his neck, and whispered:
"I love you, liar."
"I hate you, liar."
That sound of water flowing, from youth till now, finally could never leave his ears.
Her head leaned on his shoulder, and she slowly closed her eyes.
"Don’t leave me... take me with you..."
"I’ll always be good... I won’t hurt you anymore..."
White snow falls, covering the mountain.
Yamada Machiichi reached out his hand.
The shattered white light drifted towards the sky, the same color as the snow, indistinguishable from it.
The girl, who had just been speaking in his embrace and had been his youthful crush, now had no weight at all, transformed into floating snowflakes. Only the crystal at his neck remained, glowing hotly, painfully.
He touched his chest as if he could hear the sound of his heart deteriorating. It turned out that in just over half a year, he was no longer the boy who easily felt the thrill of love. The World Game had killed too many people, and it had killed him too.
Why on earth... did the boy by the river become the ranked player Yamada Machiichi.
Splash—splash—splash—
The sound of water drowned out his ears, and he finally became that river on the way home from school.
"..." He closed his eyes, wiping the liquid off his face haphazardly: "What a... bastard..."
He unhooked the crystal from the back of his neck, gazed at it for a moment, then looked towards the direction of the World Tree.
This crystal, as noted by the system, could be thrown remotely.
There was still one thing left, one more bastard thing... he had to give this crystal to the person who needed help the most. Only if that person succeeded could many people live...
Ha, haha... he was truly such a bastard, and thus, the boy turned into the last "Yamada Machiichi" of the World Game...
He clenched the crystal tightly and threw it with force.
With the system’s distance enhancement, the crystal flew out like an arrow, heading straight for the World Tree.
...
Wang Xingkong thought he was an outsider.
Until he suddenly discovered that at the same moment Zhi Fei’er turned transparent, the body of the old grandma in the room also became transparent.
"Wait—wait a minute! No, this is not right!"
Wang Xingkong couldn’t care to watch Yamada Machiichi anymore. He scrambled into the front yard, burst through the door, and saw the old woman sitting in a rocking chair, with an unfinished sweater on her knees.
He staggered forward, hugged the old woman’s body, stuffed the Strawberry Crisp into her hands, and shouted desperately: "What’s happening! Grandma, what’s happening!?"
Perhaps due to her being a well-versed shop owner, the old grandma’s Spiritual Energy was higher than Zhi Fei’er, and she should have been able to board the Ark, but she seemed not to have taken the "Strawberry Crisp"!
Did she intentionally not take it? Did she not want to go?
The old grandma opened her eyes, took a gentle look at Wang Xingkong, quickly closed them again, and shook her head:
"A new world... it’s too far, I... will stay here."
"Actually, I never thought my Spiritual Energy would qualify. It seems that the young new Lord Olivius did something to make even an old fellow like me qualify. He must have paid a high price."
"But, looking at the situation of the girl in the backyard, it seems that some people still can’t board... Since the spots are limited, I’ll pass. I already have an illness, even if I go to a new place, I won’t live for more than a few months."
"No! It has happened once before, and this time it can’t... this time I can’t watch you... you all die in front of me!" Wang Xingkong picked up the nearby flowers, folded them into the shape of "Strawberry Crisp" haphazardly, and stuffed them into the old grandma’s hands.
But it was already too late.
The Strawberry Crisp showed no reaction as if it had lost its response.
Only a pair of aged hands placed a nearly finished sweater into Wang Xingkong’s hands.
"Ah——!!"
He finally cried out loud. The panic of drifting alone in an unfamiliar world, the sorrow of losing friends, and the fear of realizing he was just an npc left him almost breathless.
Hearing his loud cries, those aged hands stiffened for a moment, then lightly patted his back.
"Come to think of it... there was a young man, who once came to my shop, asking for a bouquet of Manzusha Flower..." The old woman raised her head: "Now that I think about it, he looks a bit familiar, where exactly have I seen him before..."
Such a child, his expression seemed to have made some decision. He even said that he wanted an old bone like her to see the flowers in the new world.
She wanted to thank him for his blessing, but she wouldn’t go, leaving the spot for those who wanted to go more.
"Child, go quickly... you said you wanted to find your mom and dad, right..."
"Those are the parents in my memory..." Wang Xingkong cried out loud, sitting on the floor, sobbing and hiccupping, tears streaming down his face, looking extremely embarrassed: "Who am I! Who am I! Who am I really! Am I really Wang Xingkong! Who are my parents really!?"
"Grandma, I miss you, I really miss you... If only I were a bit better, you wouldn’t have, wouldn’t have died in the Disciple Game... If only I were a bit better, this time, I could have taken you with me..."
"Why, why, can’t I keep anything, save anyone... why, I’m Wang Xingkong..."
White snow fell, the blue cloth drying in the courtyard fluttered, and outside the courtyard, a stone mill shone brightly.
"Ding—ling—"
Under the eaves of the flower house, a rusty copper wind chime rang clearly.
In that moment, through his tearful eyes, Wang Xingkong heard many cheers.
From the street corners, alleyways, across the fence, outside the flower shop... the sound of cheering.
"Hahaha, we’ve been selected!"
"Fantastic! The ratio is surprisingly high, not many people can’t board the ship!"
"The new Lord Olivius is amazing!"
"Dad, Mom, we’re going to the New World!"
In the bustling crowd, people laughed loudly, sang, and clapped.
In the center of the crowd, there were pretty girls dancing, their skirts swirling, adorned with fresh flowers, laughing loudly with anticipation for the future days. She initially thought her Spiritual Energy wasn’t enough, but surprisingly, she was successfully selected.
Who exactly were the ones unwilling to leave, giving their spots to those eager to go.
In the dim room, the old lady sat in a rocking chair, with several unfinished sweaters on her knees, watching the jubilant young men and women, smiling.
Her muddled gaze passed through the old gauze window, looking at the distant ship in the sky.
Ah... that truly is... a magnificent ship.
She had never seen the sea in her life, and now, at the end, she saw the ship... truly a miracle...
What kind of child, adept at creating miracles, brought that miraculous ship...
The last bit of sunlight disappeared, replaced by a sky full of words and white snow.
"Swish—"
Like a silent finale, like a silent opening.
Until the aged hand gently patting his back gradually slipped away.
"Plop."
In the room, only the flowers swayed gently, silent and somber.
Wang Xingkong hung his head in tears, crying loudly, his legs gave out, and he kneeled down by the rocking chair, his tears crashing to the floor.
"Wah wah wah—wah wah wah ah—"
"Grandma, Grandma Jia Xiqin, let me save you..."
"I’m a waste, I’m trash, I’m a loser pulled down by the protagonist on stage..."
"Even a loser wants to save you, a loser really misses you..."
At this moment, he suddenly felt homesick.
He’s been feeling homesick all these days.
He missed his dad, missed his mom.
Missed the little dog in the alley, missed the terrible tomato scrambled eggs in the cafeteria.
Missed those peaceful and mundane days.
...
"Dad... Mom..."
...
```
"——Get out of the way! Get out of the way! My father’s manuscript created the Lord of the Lin Clan! The Lord of the Lin Clan is my relative!!!"
"Move! Move quickly!"
A man babbling non-stop squeezed through the crowd and rushed to the relief point of Nalan Court.
He waved the tattered manuscript in his hand, shouting: "My father already died from illness, creating such a huge achievement with the Lin Clan; it should be credited to me, his son! You at Nalan Court should give me an aristocratic identity in the New World!"
His expression was extremely proud, and others backed away three feet.
"What is your father’s name?" Lv Zhuqing, dressed in black, stood behind the relief point. Compared to the beginning, he was now neatly dressed with a rosy complexion. Prance wanted him to stay in a safe place, but he volunteered to come and assist the civilians.
"Lin Hejin! My old man is named Lin Hejin!" The man said confidently: "You must give me an aristocratic identity!"
"What? The Lord of the Lin Clan has already appeared?" People murmured among themselves:
"And it’s using a commoner’s manuscript..."
The man puffed out his chest and laughed proudly: "Yes, yes, it’s my father’s manuscript! So in a sense, I’m still a relative of the Lord of the Lin Clan!"
No one would lie in such a situation, and people continually praised the man.
"With such achievements from your father, you certainly won’t be ordinary in the future." People praised.
"This should at least get him an aristocratic identity; after all, when the father dies, the son should benefit."
"Yes, the future is bright ahead..."
"I’ve never heard of Lin Hejin before, is he a reclusive literary giant? Or is he a lord wearing a vest?"
"He must be some super lord, creating in secret with a vest. Otherwise, how could his manuscript become the spiritual foundation for the Lord of the Lin Clan..."
"Surely, it can’t be an ordinary person..."
Lv Zhuqing frowned. Ordinarily, this is indeed a great achievement, and with the father’s death, it’s true that the son benefits if verified.
At this moment, Lv Zhuqing’s eyes suddenly flickered with some astonishment.
Because the arrogant man’s figure began to turn transparent.
And everyone else was floating upwards.
"It’s starting! It’s starting! Wonderful!" People shouted loudly.
"Wait, I... me!!!" The man screamed, clearly having Strawberry Crisp on him! Why wasn’t he protected, why couldn’t he ascend!
Lv Zhuqing was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Your spiritual energy doesn’t meet the standard..."
It must be that Su Ming’an did something, causing the spiritual energy standard to be much lower. Yet, even so, this man still didn’t meet it, demonstrating his exceptionally low spiritual energy. The family environment greatly influences spiritual energy, yet despite having such a father, the man...
"That old thing, I..." The man was stunned.
He suddenly realized, there were many times that old fossil told him to read more books, not to spend all day drinking and gambling, but after reading all those books, that old man was still destitutely poor, he naturally thought reading and thinking were useless, money was the true kin.
How many times did he storm out in the middle of his father’s sighs? How many times did he mock his father’s manuscript as nothing more than toilet paper that publishers despised, and berated his father for offending Sique Olivius, having no hope of success in life?
He never thought one day his survival would depend on such an absurd standard.
And that destitute old sick man, avoided by neighbors as a plague ghost, would become known among the people as the "Savior."
"You, you can’t leave me behind! My father is a meritorious figure! I’ll become a grand noble in the future! My father’s manuscript created the Lin Clan! I’m the Savior’s son! You can’t leave me!!!!"
The man shouted in despair, relentlessly waving the manuscript in his hand.
Lv Zhuqing slowly closed his eyes.
"Dad! I was wrong! I was wrong! I shouldn’t have called you useless; come back to life and take me away! Dad!!!"
The cries gradually diminished.
...
The manuscript fluttered like snowflakes.
...
"Chirp, chirp."
The Shadow arrived at the foot of a hill and looked up towards it.
He casually tidied his purple long hair, checked his gold contact lenses one more time, draped on the blood-red cloak adorned with golden wheat ears, and walked upwards.
This was inspired by the "Master of Beauty Lenses" Hui Bai. The Shadow, using his clever little mind, thought—since changing contact lenses could change one’s identity, why not disguise with a wig and a mask as well, directly impersonating someone else?
So he got a wig, contact lenses, and clothes, put on a mask that covered half his face, applied some makeup, and cosplayed as Sique.
This wasn’t due to an urge from his anime addiction; rather, it was to disguise as Sique to reach out to some key figures and obtain information that his true self couldn’t.
Time was pressing, and The Shadow only found one key figure, right on this hill.
He adjusted his collar, channeled his work ethic in cosplaying the Boss Rabbit, and leisurely walked up the hill.
On the hill, a slender figure stood quietly. The young man’s white lab coat was covered in dust, and a leaf whistle hung by his lips. The Snow of the End was close, yet he had no intention of fleeing.
Though it was a young face, his brows were condensed, as if weathered by many storms.
The young man heard The Shadow’s footsteps but continued playing the whistle. Only after finishing an entire piece did he lower the leaf whistle and said calmly:
"This leaf whistle, you taught me how to play it. During those days when I picked you up as a child, I felt like I was walking among the clouds, treading in a dream, floating for decades... and yet I haven’t woken up."
The Shadow approached a bit closer, and a gust of wind blew a few strands of purple long hair across Ran Bo’s eye corner.
"Perhaps as the end is near, light and dark unite, I’ve remembered many things." Ran Bo still didn’t turn around:
"I remember how you arrogantly rewrote everything, how you arrogantly stole all my honor, how you cast me aside. I remember countless destitute days and nights, I remember being despised for most of my life, I remember countless sheets of calculations reduced to waste paper..."
The Shadow secretly clicked his tongue in relief that Su Ming’an wasn’t such a jerk. Outwardly, he fully performed his act, softly probing for more information: "So what?"
"So what!" Ran Bo emphasized loudly, seemingly angered by the arrogance in the question.
He deeply hated the arrogance of rulers, yet still secretly yearned for a new world "without pain and without strife."
Assuming everything is constructed with words, would there be no pain in this world? If everything can be rewritten with words, what miracles couldn’t happen? An incurable cancer, with just a few strokes, can obtain a remedy. A disabled person’s lost legs, with just a few strokes, can stand again.
But reality exceeds people’s fantasies. The price of curing cancer is that a cold has instead become a deadly disease. Disabled people gain legs, but normal people develop leg proliferation diseases... The world’s physical laws remain constant; gain and cost are actually twins.
The commoners gain the power of script to overthrow the nobility, but they become the new nobility. A brave person gains the sword to overthrow the dynasty, slays the Evil Dragon, but becomes the new Evil Dragon. The sharpest pen edge can rewrite everything, regardless of whether the writer is also a character in the book—yet it can’t rewrite desire.
The enormous power structure has never changed; it’s merely swapped "army," "salary," "position" for "pen edge." How dare they demand this world become an Eden where no one commits evil? It’s just the start of a new cycle, just a new batch of people sitting in the lower, middle, and upper levels, still stamping the same red seal, writing the same papers, typing on the same keyboard. There’s no personalized, romantic, or free art here, only beasts of the same kind beneath the beautiful floral surface.
The soil under the roots remained unchanged, the dark land can only yield barren flowers, and frozen lake water can’t produce justice.
"...I indeed thought wrong." The Shadow coughed, his voice calm: "There is no Utopia in the world, nor Eden. All these terms are deceptive, used to fuel people’s desires."
"What I’m concerned with is—" The Shadow paused, threw out his question: "Ran Bo, why are you here?"
Based on his information, as a scientist creating the Rin Clan, Ran Bo should be with Hui Bai and Xiao Bai, so why would he be alone on the hill?
The Snow of the End is descending, doesn’t this person care for his life!?
Ran Bo turned around, spread his arms wide, his expression a mix of crying and laughing:
"—This is my ’revenge’ on you all."
"Revenge?" The Shadow widened his eyes.
"Do you know?" Ran Bo showed a smile almost gritting his teeth, a sense of fulfillment as if a great vendetta was avenged: "I planted a wrong ’red line’ in the Rin Clan I personally created."
"You truly succeeded in creating the Rin Clan?" The Shadow said in surprise: "Where is he? Did Hui Bai and Xiao Bai take him away?"
"Yes! Succeeded! I, such an insignificant, ridiculous, abandoned person, actually became one of the ’Saviors’ of a new era! Rin Clan Sir, emerged from my humble hands!" Ran Bo laughed, speaking to himself:
"That Rin Clan, transparent like jelly, he had just learned some common sense and was attacked by the Radiant Mother God. Hui Bai and Xiao Bai fought with all their might, and I, the unnoticeable one, slipped away, no one cared about my fate."
"I don’t know if that Rin Clan survived the attack, or where Hui Bai and the others took him, I don’t care, but I—I verified my lifetime of research!"
He slowly retracted his hands, staring at his palm lines, his expression almost delirious:
"But, how laughable, the world’s future is entrusted to a man-made child! Not entrusted to a talented think-tank and the seat of the common people! Luowasha has ultimately become a one-man town hall. I can’t even imagine what if that Rin Clan is misled, who can sanction him, who can guide him!? How can it be that a single Lighthouse guides everyone sailing in the deep sea!?"
The Shadow’s eyebrows slightly relaxed.
He couldn’t tell if he was still cosplaying or expressing his true thoughts:
"I’ll sanction, I’ll lead, I’ll guide that Lighthouse," he said calmly.
Like a faraway memory was awakened, he seemed to return to when he was the "Number One Player," that mottled fading memory like a sunken ship at the ocean bottom, hardly any sunlight could penetrate that long-lost darkness.
"You? You, you’ve been asleep! Who knows why you appear now!" Ran Bo shouted angrily: "You think your worldview is so correct? You’ve just repeatedly deepened this miserable power system! The number of people indirectly killed by you is countless!"
He spread his arms again, coldly staring at The Shadow:
"The ’Red Line’ I planted in that Rin Clan member is precisely a line to prevent him from acting recklessly!"
"Once he kills his first person, once he starts doing evil... the aging cells in his body will automatically activate, destroying this corrupted fellow!"
"Since his soul was generated with Lin Hejin’s manuscript paper as the base, he is innately a leader of light and justice. I cannot change his destiny of becoming a world leader, so let me swear to add a second line of defense, so he can forever be a leader of light and justice! The world does not need a corrupted Lighthouse. The moment of corruption is the moment of his death!!"
Ran Bo’s words contained not the slightest hatred towards the Rin Clan.
But were more akin to a sorrow for an unchangeable world power structure, a stubborn adherence to certain bottom lines, an unwavering pursuit of ruling over the masses, and a helplessness toward the "child" he created with his own hands.
As a scientist, there wasn’t much he could do, and this method was the only red line he could adhere to from his heart.
If he’s to be the Lighthouse of the world, then let him always be the Lighthouse!
Never to dim, never to collapse!
Since he couldn’t change the power structure of the new world, since everyone listens to the orders of one Rin Clan member, let the red line he planted become the most potent preservative for that Ruler! Once corrupted, annihilation without hesitation!
He knew that doing such a thing would sooner or later be discovered and settled, that the honor of being a "Savior Scientist" which should belong to him would also be revoked. Respect and courtesy were impossible for him in the new world because he had calculated against the future World Master lord, planting a mechanism triggered by death.
The world science award he longed for all his life was within reach, yet he gave it up with his own hands.
From the moment he planted the wrong "Red Line", he never had plans to live on.
"If you feel dissatisfied, if you feel angry, then—" Ran Bo opened his arms wide, facing the hair-whisking "Sique", and laughed wildly:
"Kill me!"
"Force me to speak the method to remove the ’Red Line’—prove to me that you were right all along!"
"Prove to me that my life’s effort deserved to be your stepping stone, my experimental data deserved to be rewritten by you, I deserved a lifetime of suffering! I am... the rightful sacrifice on the new era’s scientific path!"
A sacrifice of the era, personal presence like a grain of sand before the wheel.
But this grain of sand can also pierce the giant’s feet.
He wants to be the hottest, roughest, sharpest grain of sand! Making the genius standing on the giant’s shoulders feel pain, and be the sharpest thorn, fiercely piercing their flesh.
—Let the remnants of the old era extinguish in the old era! Let him be the last fool of the scientific age! Let him be the obstinate madman in the cave!!!
"Ha, hahaha, hahahahaha—!" He laughed wildly. He could finally speak of this "Red Line" he had planted. People were too late to stop him; the Rin Clan had already been born, and none, even with extraordinary abilities, could change what was embedded in their bloodline.
Thus he plotted against the future World Master lord. He both fulfilled his lifelong scientific wish and upheld his moral line.
Shadow blinked in shock, never expecting that a casual conversation would yield such extensive information.
He did know that "to make the artificial Rin Clan the World Master of [Eden]" and "to make Su Ming’an the World Master of [small world]" are essentially transformations of "human governance" into "divine governance". After all, the world had entered the high-dimensional era, where individual might far exceeds original technology. Returning power to the original class would cause even more chaotic darkness. This parallels the wrecked world post-war.
However, if the "God" turns corrupted, the cost of overthrowing is enormous. Therefore, Su Ming’an had long contemplated the necessity of setting up a role like a "beheader", or leaving a vulnerability for himself, enabling knowledgeable individuals to conveniently kill him. Moreover, he would gradually retreat into the background, transferring power to morally vetted top players, before eventually transitioning it back to humanity over a long period without provoking.
Compared to Su Ming’an, Ran Bo on the Luowasha side as a scientist had prematurely contemplated this issue—clearly the most betrayed person, yet he considered for the Eden he could not step into.
A frog in a well cannot see the sky.
An alteration by Olivius confined him to a narrow cave all his life, helplessly watching the geniuses outside bring the fireseed, and finally, relying on himself walked out of the mud.
"Is that so." Shadow’s voice was light: "So, you don’t plan to board the ship."
The mad scientist had already given up his life, his Savior identity, and his life’s prosperity.
He locked the justice and eternity of the new world’s Lighthouse with a blood-like red line made from his life, ensuring the Rin Clan remains forever upright and noble.
No one in the new world would allow him to survive.
The white snow began to fall.
The fluttering white coat began to dissolve.
"You’re not Sique, are you." Ran Bo suddenly said.
"Hmm?" Shadow widened his eyes, not knowing where his cosplay went wrong.
"Because he wouldn’t remember me, but you called out my name." Ran Bo said.
"Ha?" Shadow was taken aback, then suddenly comprehended the arrogance in this sentence. The Creator wouldn’t remember every character they altered, let alone a minor one.
"My obsession only trapped me alone." Ran Bo smiled, looking towards the slope below.
Women cradled infants comforting them, dust-colored little dogs ran across fields, a youngster blowing bubbles sat on a stone bench, a deceased elderly was covered with a white cloth.
The smoke from cooking fires that hadn’t yet been extinguished floated upwards, while black and white birds hopped along the eaves.
Some people speak incessantly of the "world," though they might never have touched a green and yellow wheat ear. Others tread on yellow earth, gazing at the sky, yet never escape that narrow well all their lives.
And him, he is dying too.
Who will remember? Who will care? Besides that kind soul... the person named "Su Ming’an" who once sincerely visited his life, trying to change his suffering. Who truly entrapped him?
"Thank you for finally... visiting me." Ran Bo looked towards the bottom of the hill and picked up the leaf whistle again: "Tell me, what is your name?"
He got it wrong, he had been wrong all his life.
In his youth, he studied hard for that person and entered the Academy of Sciences. During his middle age, he became destitute because of that person. In his later years, he resented that person.
His life seemed like a circle returning to the point; trapped by a single point, he spent his life going round in circles.
And now everything returns to the beginning, he becomes a young man once again. In the end, perhaps he should remember a few extra names.
Those... who once advised him to start a family early, care for himself, his colleagues.
Sorry, he had always referred to them by surname, never remembering their full names.
And that... female assistant who wanted to confess to him but died in an accidental experiment.
Sorry, he truly didn’t remember her name. Now awakened, it’s too late to find her name.
The only one he can remember is the person in front of him.
How could he awaken only at the end, understand only at the end? The great wisdom of life, why does it always come too late?
"My name is..." Shadow hesitated for a moment, then chuckled softly and shook his head:
"My name is Su Ming’an."
For a moment, he almost blurted out, "My name is Shadow." This is how people of the World Game have known him; over time, it seems that name became his name.
But what meaning does this name hold? In this situation, perhaps it’s better to leave the name "Su Ming’an." Just in case... Just in case Ran Bo wants to repay something, let him repay Su Ming’an. That person is now in the most difficult moment.
At this instant, Shadow suddenly realized his mindset was momentarily similar to Ran Bo’s, also forming a circle, trapped by someone, something, continuing to spin, spin, spin.
Wasn’t that person also himself? He just chose a different direction, was just a bit luckier, without the touch of darkness...
Shadow touched his chest but couldn’t confirm his heartbeat, nor could he fixate on a thought in his mind. He felt like a clanking slot machine, lights jumping endlessly over vivid patterns of apples, watermelons, and oranges, incessantly.
"Oh, it’s you... I know you." Ran Bo nodded: "Did you set your ’Red Line’?"
Shadow gave a barely perceptible smile: "Yeah."
Perhaps, he was Su Ming’an’s "Red Line."
That guy wouldn’t want him to be the final cut of mercy, right?
"Good, then I’m at ease..." Ran Bo smiled briefly, looking up, quietly awaiting the heavy snow.
The first flake of snow touched his skin; as his figure started to dissolve, his expression momentarily froze, as if recalling something.
Then, a childlike helpless expression appeared on his face.
He gazed blankly at the village below the hill, at his palm, then at Shadow descending the hill, feeling a fierce struggle, deep reflection in his heart.
It was as if he was a child suddenly opening his eyes, observing, curious and contemplating everything.
But soon, as if having figured it out, he showed a clean, gentle smile like that of snowflakes:
"...We seem to come from the same hometown, Su Ming’an."
Shadow’s eyes widened in shock.
He suddenly recalled that in the memory of the first World Game... the player’s ranking list had Ran Bo’s name on it.
And Yijulai’er had said, even if Hui Bai and others jumped into the Ink Sea, erasing past memories, there would be a chance to awaken memories, but only once.
Ran Bo’s only chance came now.
At death.
He remembered who he was.
—They came from the same hometown but ended up in different homes.
For the bright future of his hometown, he resolutely went into exile towards the universe, to an unfamiliar world, having his memory erased. Before death, he only remembered who he was, recalled his family, friends, classmates, their appearances, and names.
... He only remembered his original hometown, called "Zhai XIng."
"Sigh... If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have left with Hui Bai and them. Su Ming’an, you seemed to be... eleventh back then, right? Now you’ve become the Number One Player." Ran Bo sighed:
"I seemed to be fluctuating between the seventh and ninth places back then. If I had chosen to stay, maybe I could have competed with you. Not like now, so down and out."
"Truly... arrived in a new hometown, even forgetting who I am. Now I don’t even have a chance to see my parents again. Although I’ve lived in Luowasha for several lifetimes, it’s not even a year for you all..."
The endless snow seemed like a roaring sea wave, the fluttering white coat like a pure white sail, and the young man smiled on the hillside.
His short hair fluttered, the daylight stretched long, seemingly spreading from behind him slowly across the world.
His palms, arms, forehead, abdomen... gradually melted with the falling snow, like a snowman about to disappear in the sunlight of the new world.
The Shadow descended the hill to avoid the snow, looking up at him.
"Do you regret it?" the Shadow asked, "Regret becoming the Guiding Star of Zhai Xing."
– Were they not, the ones who first headed to Luowasha, the navigators and Guiding Stars in the eyes of other players?
"Saying I regret it, maybe a bit. Look, I’ve ended up like this, no one remembers me. If I had stayed there with you, maybe I would at least be a top player as famous as you, remembered by hundreds of millions..." Ran Bo sighed but waved his hand freely, "Too late, too late."
"Hui Bai doesn’t even regret it, so why should I."
"However, he hasn’t recovered his memory yet, so who knows if he regrets it or not. Never thought that we used to be top players together and ended up as scientific comrades, creating the Rin Clan..."
"Fate indeed plays with people..."
"But since we’ve taken the step, there’s no looking back."
"At least it proves that..."
He lowered his gaze, suddenly feeling relieved.
As if the lifelong accumulation, sedimentation, and inseparable pain were slowly being released:
"Proved – I was not the so-called necessary sacrifice on the research path in Sique’s eyes..."
"My life has had value from the start, I am one of the pioneers of Zhai Xing! I was one of the guides who first stepped into the cosmic route, I was once a top player – the ’First Mechanician’ Ran Bo! Not a poor figure carelessly rewritten by the Magpie, not a struggling insignificant sacrifice in the face of the Genesis Era, not a clown crushed into mud beneath the feet of the talented and giants."
"If so."
He placed his right hand on his chest.
His eyes touched the white snow.
His eyeballs slid blood traces.
He sang in the snow.
He smiled in the snow.
"– Isn’t one lifetime enough?"
...
If I were a bird,
I too should sing with a hoarse throat:
This land struck by storms,
These rivers forever surging with our rage,
This unendingly blowing enraged wind,
And that incredibly gentle dawn coming from the woods...
...
Birds can fly because they cannot survive in the sea.
Fish evolved fins because they cannot walk on land.
They live in different environments, hence evolving their own organs and physiological traits. A mandarin born in Huainan is a mandarin, but when born in Huaibei it becomes trifoliate.
Scientists, when their ideals of pure research cannot be satisfied, for survival, evolve chasing fame, profits, desires, bribery, personal connections, and exclusionary groups. The environment cannot allow pure people to survive, so pure people "evolve" to no longer be pure.
Once, people hoped to remain pure forever, until society and the times crushed everything under giant feet, until those vying for power and profit stepped on their heads to climb upward.
Thus, birds grew fins, and fish grew wings.
– In Luowasha, this became the reason small cats carried seats to become Cat Cars, birds grew fins to start gathering salt, and leek’s limbs grew scythes by themselves.
But, but indeed.
There are still those who remember, in the vast boundless universe, a beautiful and tear-inducing blue planet.
There, no birds have turned into humans, nor have humans turned into birds.
There, humans are humans, and birds are birds. But feathers do not grow on people’s skin, they grow in their hearts. Deadly sharp tiger claws do not grow at their fingertips, but in the keyboards they tap. The dragon mouth that easily robs jewels does not grow on their lips, but in the documents they sign.
There’s no great difference between it and Luowasha; same dangers, ugliness, and beauty, yet it’s a homeland still retaining pure people in their hearts.
...
"Ran Bo, our little pride! Happy birthday, make a wish! Our little genius, what do you want to do in the future?"
"Dad, Mom, I want to be a scientist! I want to make spaceships like the adults on TV, to fly to the universe!"
...
He finally flew to the universe.
– If I were a bird.
He bid farewell to the Shadow, still laughing wildly, the strawberry crisp right by his feet, but he didn’t pick it up. Until the white snow melted his throat, he still laughed with a hoarse throat.
– I too should sing with a hoarse throat.
His eyes had already touched the white snow, the eyeballs gradually melted, leaving only terrifying hollows. He used these melted eyes to gaze at the countryside, cooking smoke, and rivers.
This is not his homeland.
This is his homeland.
– This land struck by storms,
He spread his arms, turning in circles, as if to embrace the sky, until the white snow completely covered his body, the hoarse laughter seemingly still echoing on the hillside.
– This river forever surging with our rage.
The pioneer sounded a long lamentation and died.
His head, torso, arms, legs... gradually melted into what seemed like a new patch of snow. Only a few pieces of white cloth wavered and fell to the ground.
On the hillside, at last, there was no more birdsong.
After Ran Bo dissipated, the Shadow originally thought nothing was left there, but unexpectedly, where Ran Bo had just disappeared, a human figure appeared.
The Shadow widened its eyes in surprise, looking up.
– This wind endlessly blowing in fury.
In the harsh wind, it was as if an unvoiced roar echoed.
That figure’s appearance and height were not unlike Ran Bo, yet in his eyes was the same resolve and madness.
Since Ran Bo stood at a height and embraced the Snow of the End actively, the snow wasn’t too intense, and the Shadow quickly brought the newly appeared person down the hill.
Seeing this person clearly, the Shadow blinked in shock:
"Ran Bo, indeed a genius..."
Ran Bo could create the Rin Clan, naturally, he could create "himself" again.
He knew he would not be accepted by the new world, but if he created a new life, this new life would surely be able to get on board. However, his soul indeed had dissipated into the snow, the new life was merely inheriting his will.
He buried this new life within himself and set a condition for birth: upon his death, the new life would be born.
The moment he perished, the new life sprouted, was born, and opened its eyes from within him.
– He let this new life board the ship, not for enjoyment, but to become the third line of defense. When the rulers of the new world became corrupted, to personally send them to their deaths, preventing even a one-in-ten-thousand possibility of the "Red Line" being lifted.
In this way, as long as calm seas and clear rivers are guaranteed, as long as the corrupted rulers are all dead, he could avoid as much as possible the tragedy of his lifetime – being miserable all life just for offending those in power.
Restraining power and malice was an achievement this pioneer spent everything on.
He wanted to protect countless "selves," to protect countless persecuted "Ran Bo."
"——I will become the death’s blade in their lead, sending all those who have decayed to embrace the most beautiful death."
The newborn person opened their eyes, watching their hair turn from black to white, changing from a lab coat to a black robe, like a kind of inversion.
——From a scientist who creates life, to a reaper who takes it away.
Creation is for justice.
Destruction is also for purity.
"You... What is your name?" Shadow gazed at this new life, slowly asked.
"You must be ’my’ friend, hello, nice to meet you." The white-haired new life waved, curving the corners of their lips.
He touched his hair, which had turned from black to white, his nature completely different, as if he were inverted from a creator to a reaper.
"I will watch over those rulers, and when they decay, personally deliver them sweet death..."
"My name is..." he felt this complete opposite inversion, opened his right hand, summoned a pitch-black scythe, and smiled playfully:
...
"Ran Bo."
...
Ran Bo seemed to have a dream before dissipating.
In the dream, he stood under a tree, watching a magpie covered in blood.
"That magpie is injured, it fell from the sky, we should take care of it," mom said beside him.
Ran Bo quietly watched the little bird for a while, smiled, and shook his head:
"That’s not a magpie, that’s a phoenix, that’s a wild goose, that’s heaven’s favorite. Even if no one takes care of it, it will fly again, I don’t want to take care of it."
"Mom, let’s go back."
He held his mom’s hand and walked back into the room.
Inside the room, his brother Zer was doing homework, the essay topic furrowing his brows.
Zer saw Ran Bo, pursed his lips, and said, "Brother, I don’t want to study humanities! I want to learn science! Isn’t it said that the future belongs to sciences, humanities are just for running cat cars and delivering leeks."
Ran Bo patted his brother’s head, smiling:
"Alright."
"Study whatever you want, write essays if you want, solve problems if you want. Humanities and sciences aren’t divided into high or low, as long as you like it."
"Brother, what do you want to do in the future?" Zer looked at him with bright eyes.
"Me, uh..." Ran Bo lifted his head and thought for a while: "I guess... I’ll still go be a scientist."
"Still?"
"Yeah, because it’s something I truly like..."
...
"Where are you headed next?" Shadow asked from below the hillside.
Ran Bo thought for a moment, then smiled: "That guy left me one final command before he died."
"What?"
"[Help someone named Su Ming’an]."
Shadow widened his eyes.
A moment later, he softened his eyes, replied, "Then come with me."
"Don’t think I don’t know, you haven’t given your real name, you’re not really called Su Ming’an," Ran Bo said: "The Luowasha people have reincarnated many times, I’m not the first to be born into this world, I know Su Ming’an isn’t you."
"I really am called Su Ming’an," Shadow said.
"Who are you fooling," Ran Bo said: "But don’t worry, I’ll still help you."
"Alright then," Shadow shrugged: "Consider it as my love for cosplay."
He could cosplay many people, Boss Rabbit, Sique... But in the World Game, he couldn’t be Su Ming’an.
"By the way, since I’m an experiment product, there’s a bit of a difference from normal people. He used some Lighthouse Jellyfish flesh to create me, so I’m particularly robust," Ran Bo said: "Feel free to hit me, it only pleases me."
"Then you’ll be the meat shield, perfect since the World Tree needs one," Shadow said impolitely.
"Can you hit me just once now? I really want to feel whether the wound will heal..."
"Scram."
"Please, I’m really curious, just try, slap me just once, okay?"
"Scram!"
...
Destiny roared in the storm,
It almost emitted a narrative sound.
It said, once upon a time, there was a great Savior.
That was in Luowasha long, long ago, a time unrecordable by history.
The Savior decided to transform into a tree for the world’s stability, becoming a large tree—becoming the world itself.
Using roots to regulate soil, Cang Mountain, rivers, fields, using crown to regulate clouds, rainwater, sky, feeding life with fruits, perceiving heaven and earth with branches and leaves.
The Savior had two former companions, one named "Captain Mu," one named "Yijulai’er," becoming respectively brain and the watcher.
No one knows what era that was, some say it was before the First Epoch, yet the Luowasha era cycles continuously, First Epoch—Brave Era, Second Epoch—Genesis Era, Third Epoch—Immortal Dao Era, Fourth Epoch—Demon Era. When the light side moves forward a notch, the dark side equivalently moves back a notch. The four epochs circle like a spiral ascending wheel.
Some say, in the 114th year of some epoch, the World Tree was born. It has undergone the Independent War, The Day of God’s Fall, War of Eden, Demon War...
Unfortunately, living people today no longer know what the person who transformed into the world tree looked like, or their name.
Su Ming’an has been very curious about who the great Savior was, but he can no longer find the answer. The World Tree refuses to open the [World Barrier], even claims to want to destroy humanity, losing its human nature over long years, it must be destroyed.
Pure white Deity An and golden-red Noel.
Pitch-dark like crow feathers Su Ming’an, and his companions Xiber, Chao Yan, Dan Shuang, among others.
"Boom——!!!"
An explosion roared.
Deep blue radiance streaked from afar like a comet.
——Isabella and other researchers’ Star Destroyer Cannon aimed.
"Clatter——!"
White light appeared, flowing into Su Ming’an’s body.
——Lin Yin and others’ prayers transformed into Power of Faith surged.
"Ding——!"
Clear sound.
A crystal passed through the tree hole falling down, becoming growing crystals.
——Yamada Machiichi’s thrown crystal fell.
"Swish——!"
Energy gushed out from inside.
——From Shadow’s side, Ran Bo provided Lighthouse Jellyfish’s energy flowing.
Where thousands gathered, stars dazzling.
Everyone’s story converges on him.
Su Ming’an slowly opened a book.
Rather than a book, it resembles a blue planet, surrounded by deep blue sea and white clouds, presenting thirty percent land and seventy percent ocean, book pages moving like clouds over this round object, surrounded by starlike radiance.
This is the "World Book" of the "small world."
Taking advantage while Dan Shuang and others held off Noel, Su Ming’an placed his hand on the book pages.
"Ding dong!"
...
[Su Ming’an, are you sure?]
This time the system prompt was exceedingly simple.
...
"I’m sure," Su Ming’an said.
The azure orb flickered, and his figure began to turn transparent.
He held the small azure planet in his hands, bringing it to his chest as if cradling a treasure.
The so-called "transform into the World Tree" means that as the supreme being of a world, one no longer walks independently within it, but merges both soul and form into the world itself.
It’s like a computer, which has peripherals like a mouse and keyboard, but now, these peripherals have become programs within the screen.
All the information of the small world drifted before his eyes. At this moment, he suddenly had a real sense of being a god—he could perceive any corner of the small world, see anyone passing by in a hurry.
He would comprehend all this spiritual knowledge, abandon the existence of the self, and merge into the world.
Wherever his thoughts spread, it was within his grasp. His thoughts are the law of the small world.
He transformed into the collective unconscious beneath the iceberg.
The idea itself is the world—a romanticism belonging to idealists, and it actually exists in reality.
If the exalted things in ideals truly exist in reality, if they are the foundational basis of real things—then should reality be called ideal? Or does the ideal belong to reality?
Look, idealism has actually been recognized!
Look, the ideas in one’s mind can actually create the world!
The ink-gold feather pen swayed brilliantly, Su Ming’an opened his eyes, his eyes blazing like the sun.
—The sun and the sun locked gazes at this moment.
He saw Noel’s eyes, those blue eyes momentarily showing sorrow.
"Tock."
Dan Shuang and others used all their strength to block Noel, Xiber’s Reincarnation Authority, Chao Yan’s Life Authority, Dan Shuang’s Evil Dragon bloodline... made the World Tree emit a tearing sound.
The blooming Manzusha Flower, the backward flowing time, the roaring Giant Dragon, the projected shadows like burning flames.
"Tock," a footstep.
God Ming’an, covered in white frost, walked forward.
His shadow was lavishly silhouetted in the firelight, like a beach slowly withdrawing and calming beneath the waves.
Noel faced everyone else, while God Ming’an faced Su Ming’an.
"Swish!" The golden Sword of Yarman was in God Ming’an’s hand, his spine connected to the roots of the World Tree, and a continuous flow of life force was injected into his body.
"These branches look like white tendrils," Su Ming’an glanced and speculated, "Did you acquire some skill near a First Level God after obtaining the ’Observation’ Authority that allows you to share the power of the World Tree?"
"Quite correct," God Ming’an said indifferently, "The skill is called ’Symbiosis’."
"A good skill," Su Ming’an said.
"Do you know who the World Tree really is?" God Ming’an suddenly asked, "Someone you would never expect."
"I don’t care," Su Ming’an said.
He had already chosen to transform into a tree, and the World Tree must be destroyed, no matter who becomes it; it cannot delay his actions.
"Then, come——"
God Ming’an raised his sword.
The sword’s tip pointed at Su Ming’an, slightly drooping.
He did not retreat.
"——Let us continue the sword duel we never completed."
...
This world was forged by words.
Words are words, books are words, Strawberry Crisp is words, scientific laws are words, people are words, events are words.
Through the clipping and pasting of "Memory Clip," everything can change, creating logical connections.
It’s like an invisible and eerie web, ensnaring people within this complex and precise closed system with every letter and punctuation mark.
The wise will use these words.
"Clang——!" This was the first clash between Su Ming’an and God Ming’an.
A Second-level God who had swallowed the Shitposter Demon Divinity versus a First Level God holding the ’Observation’ Authority, in such a clash, the former was naturally at a disadvantage. Especially since Su Ming’an was in the process of turning into a tree, most of his strength and spirit were shifting to the small world.
He didn’t confront directly but instead showed a cunning smile, casually tossing a piece of lens with a "click."
...He was still holding the orb; who would duel swords with God Ming’an?
A smart person uses a smart person’s method of combat.
God Ming’an cautiously sidestepped, not touching, but the moment the lens hit the ground, the surrounding scene suddenly changed——
No longer the World Tree towering to the sky, the shimmering rivers, the roaring Evil Dragon, the dancing flower petals.
It was now a European-style room. A cat-eared maid held dishes in front of God Ming’an, facing the sword blade he thrust out.
God Ming’an was momentarily stunned, realizing she had no martial force, instinctively turning the blade, missing her shoulder.
Then, the cat-eared maid punched him in the abdomen.
A surge of pain came, and God Ming’an looked down to see the cunning gaze of the cat-eared maid.
"You use Divine Power, I use words," the cat-eared maid silently mouthed, her eyes unmistakably Su Ming’an’s.
...
"Crack——!"
[Your Memory Clip·"The Cat-Eared Maid’s Rejection" has shattered.]
...
Su Ming’an’s story, immediately after the first Memory Clip shattered, saw its score plummet from a high of 83 to 69 points.
The story lacked an opening scene, with no beginning or end, clearly losing its high score.
However——since deciding to destroy the World Tree, who cares about those high scores? The only ones who can evaluate these stories are the Zhai Star people and Luowasha people who’ve been saved, not the lofty outsider World Tree.
This story, painstakingly crafted since the instance began, filled with the blood, tears, and struggles of small characters, ultimately didn’t become an "artwork" for others to critique but a "weapon" to pierce the world.
Initially, it was a gift to the World Tree.
In the end, it was the blade to destroy the World Tree.
In the next moment, the second Memory Clip shattered.
"Crack——!"
...
[Your Memory Clip·"Act 1: Liujin’s First Arrival in the Red Tower Kingdom, Blood Clan Discusses Game Day" has shattered.]
[Story Score: 69→63]
...
[——Speaking of the year 182 of Genesis, the emperor of Dragon Valley awakened, opening his dark golden eyes, announcing that all the Giant Dragons that had fallen into slumber since the War of Eden had fully awakened.]
...
——Speaking of,
——the emperor of Dragon Valley awakened.
The Golden Giant Dragon roared, opening eyes more dazzling than the scorching sun, gazing at God Ming’an.
"Awoo——!!!!!!"
