first player

Chapter 1299: One Thousand Two Hundred Ninety-Six·“He suddenly felt very cold.”

"boom--!"

The mechanical door was kicked open, and the blond boy rushed out carrying a tattered robot on his back, with burnt marks on his face.

"We escaped... huh?" Lan Duan said intermittently.

"Escaped." Noel looked up.

Although Lan Qie's temperature sensing system was very backward, he could still feel the moonlight pouring down on his head, falling on his cold mechanical shell, bright and dazzling...

"Thank you..." He thanked sincerely.

The puppet strings shuttled between the tall buildings, and the searchlights fell on them. Noel pulled the puppet strings and swung from one end of the building to the other, shaking off the pursuers.

As they passed each other, he saw office workers looking down at their phones in the windows of the light rail. They lived a dull and numb life and had forgotten how to look up at the sky. So they didn't notice that a robot freed from its shackles and a beautiful phoenix were flying through the night sky hanging on a silk thread.

--free.

Freedom seems to have disappeared in this city and in countless cities.

But now, when Lan Qie, who was born on the assembly line, touched the wind in the air for the first time, he finally understood what it was.

Noel's laughter floated in the wind. "Where are you going, my friend? Do you want to see the blue sky, drink peach-flavored mechanical juice, or wear a well-fitting suit? But there are still three hours before the Disciple Game begins. I can't stay with you for too long."

Noel remembered all of Lan Qie's wishes.

"Thank you, Phoenix. You put me in the city and let me experience it myself." There was vitality in Lan Qi's eyes.

From tomorrow on, every day is a new beginning.

He can earn wealth with his own hands instead of being exploited. He can taste real food instead of low-cost nutrient solution. He can freely use his time to sing, go shopping, travel... instead of working 24 hours a day and being scolded by the Machine Master "Why don't you work hard!"

It is obvious that those advanced models of machines have monopolized the channels for promotion and snatched away the vast majority of high-precision mechanical parts, but they still act high and mighty - belittling his personality, his efforts, his dignity, blaming him for not doing well enough and leaving him to languish with the same miserable people as him.

Now, he is finally free.

Noel placed Lan Qie in a prosperous big city, where most of the people are young people looking for opportunities and there is room for gold digging everywhere.

"Click." After a moment, the locker room opened, and a young man with short blue hair, blue eyes, and a neat suit walked out, looking at himself in the mirror shyly.

——This is a really well-fitting suit.

"Phoenix, can I see you again?" Lan Qi asked with a little anticipation.

Noel helped him pay the bill and smiled: "I'm going to the Central Kingdom. We'll meet again if we're destined to."

Then, the boy disappeared into the night sky of the city like a flying bird. Feathers grew on his back. After flying a distance, he lowered his head and muttered to himself:

"Look at this player's skills, what else..."

……

"Tap, tap, tap."

The cold light shone on Su Mingan, and he followed Li Mingyue, walking in an exhibition hall.

The glass display cases are not filled with jewellery, but books, some thick, some thin, some old, some new.

"...Is Yueyue working as a librarian here?" Su Mingan looked around curiously.

Under the light, books lie quietly in the square glass cabinet.

This is the exclusive collection hall of the King. It seems that the King is a book lover. Su Mingan appreciated the King's taste and wondered what kind of books this king likes to read. They should be books like "The King's Theory", "Strategy Theory", "Historical Mirror" and so on...

He looked carefully.

"I am the King of Luowasha", "I became famous after traveling through time and space as the Queen of the Elf", "Disciple Game: The Tyrannical Evil God Falls in Love with Me", "The Max-level World Tree Rules the World", "A Collection of Si Que's Anecdotes"...

Su Mingan retracted his gaze, and his impression of the Lord of the World changed slightly: "Godfather, how far is it before we can see her?"

"immediately."

Li Mingyue looked solemn, which made Su Mingan feel strange. It was just a book exhibition hall, why was it so solemn?

"...Do you like reading?" Li Mingyue suddenly asked.

"I like it." Su Mingan said.

“After you finish a book, what do you do with it?”

"Put it on the bookshelf. Maybe I'll read it a second time later, but I prefer reading new books."

"Yes." Li Mingyue said: "After you finish reading a book, it has completed its mission. When you open its first page, it meets you for the first time. When you read it, you communicate with it. And when you close the last page, it will say goodbye to you forever."

Li Mingyue stopped.

He opened an ordinary glass display case and took out a thick book with a blue-pink gradient cover and a beautiful cat ear pendant hanging on it.

He put the book on the table.

"You should have heard of a concept." Li Mingyue said: "Pudding told you that she regards Luowasha as a book. She is the heroine and you are the hero. She thinks that if Luowasha is given a book title or a game name, it should be called "Ring of Luowasha"."

Su Mingan nodded. Pudding did say that.

"Although she said so much, in essence, she only had one point—" Li Mingyue said: "[Rovasha's world structure and logical basis can be compared to a book or a game]."

"Yes." Su Mingan already understood.

This is a worldview from a high-dimensional perspective. If civilization is likened to a book, then when we open the first page of the book, civilization begins to be born. When we turn to the next page, civilization begins to evolve, and humans begin to cultivate land by slash-and-burn farming. When we turn to the next page, primitive civilization evolves into agricultural civilization. When we turn to the next page, a dynasty is established...

What happens when you turn to a certain page? The world slowly progresses as you turn the pages. Until you turn to the last page of the book, civilization is destroyed and everything stops. Only a finished book remains.

Li Mingyue nodded: "So, if the whole world can be compared to books... what about people?"

Su Mingan felt empty in his heart.

Watching Li Mingyue wiping the book, Su Mingan, with his keen sense, quickly realized something. Then, a slight tremor appeared on his palm.

"...What." He was about to understand what Li Mingyue said.

"You haven't seen the death of the Rovasa people yet?" Li Mingyue said.

"Yes. I saw the death of Qi Jue and Fu En." Su Ming'an said.

"That doesn't count. Qi Jue is a god and Fu En is a player. Neither of them are considered Rovasa people." Li Mingyue shook her head.

"Wait a minute." Su Mingan interrupted the topic: "Fu En has an emperor as his father and a queen as his mother. He is a native of Luowasha. Why do you say he is a player?"

"...He wasn't a player a few days ago." Li Mingyue said.

At this moment, Su Mingan suddenly felt cold.

"…A few days ago, Fu En was possessed by a player. He used a sleeping array to put the player into a deep sleep, and then took over the player's identity. When Fu En sacrificed himself and died, the player sleeping in his body also died. While you were moved by Fu En's sacrifice, no one knew about the player who died as a result." Li Mingyue said.

……Yeah.

Su Mingan was silent. It turned out that there was a player sleeping inside Fu En... None of them noticed this.

Li Mingyue sighed, her eyes stayed on Su Mingan, she hesitated for a while, and seemed not to intend to continue.

However, Su Mingan's eyes were distant and silent, waiting for him. Like a prisoner who knew the outcome but was still ready to be killed. The two of them were silent for a while. After a moment, Su Mingan spoke: "Godfather, continue. You said that the world can be compared to a book, then people..."

"It's the same with people." Li Mingyue continued:

"When a Rovathan dies... he will turn into a book."

"The longer one lives, the thicker the book will be. The shorter one lives, the thinner the book will be. The book will record their life experiences, their joys, sorrows, anger, and happiness, their loves, hates, desires, friends, teachers, and lovers..."

“Just as shells produce pearls and dusty grapes produce wine, so too, when human beings have lived their short hundred years and ended their lives, their years will produce books and poems.”

"Books will also appear after the player dies, but it will take some time for them to appear."

"So, in Rowasha, besides ashes, people's tombstones also contain a book."

"Books come in different shapes and sizes. For those who lived a life of vigour and ambition, the books they leave after death will be filled with heroic sentiments. For those who lived a life of gentleness and kindness, the books they leave after death will be filled with warm and healing words. For those who kept a young mentality throughout their lives, the books they leave after death will be stained with romantic pink and free green. For those who love cats and dogs, the books they leave after death will have cat paw prints, and may even come with bookmarks, pendants, and small cards..."

“It’s like a work of art.”

“Those who treat stories and words with their heart, their souls will not be lonely and helpless even after death.”

"Talking about love and death, weaving stories into my own life."

“Waiting to be read, appreciated, shared, or as one’s last will and testament.”

"——When they were alive, they recorded the words themselves. After they died, the words recorded them."

“This is the story people write [with their lives].”

“It’s [a book that you only have once in your lifetime].”

……

The death memorial of the people of Rowasha is no longer just a rotting corpse, but a book that tells the story of life. When people are heading towards inevitable death, they know that their stories will not be buried, but can be distributed to others by relatives or friends and remembered forever.

If their lives are interesting enough, even thousands and millions of years later, even if they have already closed their eyes, perhaps there will still be people reading about their lives.

"So..." Li Mingyue's fingers brushed away the dust on the book, making it clean as new, and gently placed it in front of Su Mingan:
"This is... a book someone left for you."

The cat ear pendant hanging on the book swayed like a soft dandelion.

At this moment, Su Mingan's pupils dilated.

His lips began to tremble, and he stared at Li Mingyue in disbelief.

“Ding—ding—!”

A very beautiful book.

Pink blue gradient, clean and clear color.

There was a cat's paw print on the cover, a few chocolate patterns on the side, and a small silver sword as the bookmark. The cat ear pendant had a texture like crystal, and it made a crisp sound when it was shaken, just like her clear black eyes.

But Su Mingan was not ready to know all this.

Everything has already happened.

Li Mingyue's silent and sentimental gaze silently answered his unspoken question - the answer was obvious, so why was he still hesitating?

"Tick, tick."

At this moment, the sound of the wall clock was like thunder, and his ears were buzzing, and he could hardly hear anything. He felt like he was in a desert with only wind and sand, a traveler who was about to die of hunger and thirst.

His pupils dilated slightly, as if he had heard a ridiculous joke.

A small hole opened at the tip of his heart, and a cold wind blew through it. He even felt like he was still dreaming.

"I...wait...no..."

...Maybe his hands are shaking.

He couldn't feel whether he was standing or not.

"Do not……"

His eyes were dull as he reached out his hand, picked up the thick book, and almost wanted to tear it up to tear away the indisputable facts, but his fingers finally stopped rationally.

His eyes dropped down and landed on the short title of the book.

Only two words pierced his eyes.

At this moment, his heart was numb, his eyes turned red, and he seemed to have fallen into that nightmare from which he could not escape.

As early as when they were on vacation, he had a premonition that there was a sword of Damocles that was destined to fall over her head, called the life span of the soul. So they laughed, made noises, danced, sang, and went to all the places they were supposed to go. The boat crossed the starry river, the oars raised the waves, and the girl's figure swayed lightly on the bow of the boat...

But Liming promised him, didn't he?
After a long silence, he saw peach blossoms slowly falling in the peach forest outside the window. He remembered that when they were standing in the peach forest under the moonlight, she was reading comics on the recliner, and her shoulders were also covered with peach blossoms.

He told her to stop being lazy, and she laughed, saying that if she lived long enough she would just have to lie down. But after a while, she became greedy again and wanted to eat the children's candied haws.

He asked her to read some new comic books, but she retorted like a child, saying that old ones were better and should be savored carefully.

He brought her sweet biscuits from Beijing. She ate one and wanted more. So they made a rule that she could only eat three a day to prevent her teeth from getting bad... They also agreed to watch the fireworks in the north together...

He seemed unable to comprehend what was happening before his eyes, and his gaze remained fixed in a daze. Then, his fingers began to trace the short title of the book.

……

——《Yueyue》

……

A short title, a book that belongs to her.

The blue-pink gradient book cover was playful and solemn, cute and elegant. He stroked the white pages, one by one, so thin, so delicate, yet so heavy when closed... It was as if her slender figure was in his eyes, and each word, each word, condensed into her dark and clear eyes.

Those eyes were speaking words from childhood: Ming'an, you can treat me as a family member, I will protect you with my sword... Let's not separate again.

——How did she become a cold book?
At this moment, he suddenly missed her very much.

It started from when she left half a year ago... no, it started from her time scale... thousands or tens of thousands of years ago.

He had always missed her.

……

Taoer said he now had two new relatives.

no.

He only has one more.

……