first player

Chapter 1380 Chapter Thirty-Two · "Noel, from now on, we are no longer companions."

At this point, Noel laughed and raised his head higher.

As if afraid something would fall:
"...Later, the boy couldn't bear it anymore and died on the operating table. Before he died, he kept saying that it was a child who betrayed his parents' information, so all children are bad, and my fantasy of utopia is doomed to fail."

"...Later, I escaped from the laboratory."

"I didn't know where to go, so I went to work in a circus, using the bloody scars on my body to attract attention. I would open my wounds in front of the audience in exchange for a bite of delicious cake or bread."

"After finding a way to get in touch with a wealthy businessman, I entered the research institute and learned how to do human experiments."

"I am always observing, observing the life rules of adults in this world... At the age of sixteen, I put on adult clothes and hats, and tried to live like an adult."

"My clothes were too big, so I had to stuff them with a lot of cotton to make myself look like a strong man. I was not tall enough, so I had to pad my shoes very high to be able to look at adults at eye level. My voice was also too childish, so during that time I ate a lot of chili peppers, which damaged my throat, and deliberately made my voice hoarse... Only in this way would those bloated investors look at me straight in the eye instead of treating me like a child."

"After I saved some money, I started traveling. I've been to the Arctic, Fuso, Gran, and Dragon Country..."

"When I was seventeen, I asked the police what the boy who had suffered with me in the laboratory was called. Now I can finally build a grave for him and lay a bouquet of flowers."

"But the police told me that I was the only one on that floor of the laboratory."

"There are no boys with me at all."

“…Oh my.”

Noel put one hand behind his back, and a bell-like smile floated out from under the brim of his hat:

……

"…It turns out that I had already seen the "Dark Side of the Sun" in the midsummer when I was fourteen."

……

The back side of the sun.

That is the "other self" who hates children extremely.

That is the wicked, dark, unbelieving self who does not believe in humanity, truth, goodness and beauty, and is tortured to the point of despair and collapse...

Sometimes, Noel would see the boy in his dreams. The boy was naked and covered in blood, standing in front of him, looking at him who was now bright and beautiful, like the sun.

The boy asked him what happened in his later life?
Noel replied that nothing unfortunate happened afterwards. After leaving the laboratory, he grew up very quickly, became very tall and strong, and could make seven experimenters cry with one punch. No one dared to bully him anymore. However, there was still too much filth left in this world, and no matter how smart he was, he could not clear it all by himself.

The child asked him again and again: If the world is so dirty, why did you grow up to be so warm and bright today? Why do people call you "little sun"?
——Noel Akinni. How many clothes do you wear? Do you dare to peel off the flesh under your chest and let people see how dark the color of your heart is?
——Your utopian ideal about children, your new world that you always talk about - who knows if it is not your dictatorship and fantasy?

——How can you be sure that you will not become the inhuman “star” in the planetarium when you were a child?
——How can your ideal be called "noble" compared to Su Mingan? His ideal is to save all mankind, but what about you? You just want a pure, white, and flawless dictatorship world, and you want to satisfy your desire to travel freely in the universe.

— Noel Akinni.

——Above the crow that never lands, what is the highest respect you pay to him?

——What about the sunflowers all over the mountains that you let him see?

——Where is the flowery note you wrote during the New Year?

——On the lawn dotted with champagne towers, where is your promise to them that you will search with you?
——Are they all fake? Are they all hypocritical? Are they all for the purpose of fulfilling your desires?
"Whoa-whoa-whoa-"

The sound of black water flowed, and Noel's fingers lingered on the building block castle.

"No." He said softly.

But that’s not all.

This world is too big, and Noel Akinni alone is not enough. If Zhai Xing is saved, there may still be the ruins world. If the ruins world is saved, there may still be the old world. If the old world is saved, Luo Vasha is waiting behind...

On many nights in the Lord God's World, he sat on the glazed roof of the New World Guild, looking up at the stars, and wondering - what is the end of the universe?
Where is the ultimate theorem of entropy reduction? Where is the eternal method to create a utopia? Where is the method to make the sun fall forever and clear away all the haze hidden in the universe?

He wanted to look for it, just like picking up shells on the beach.

Like Noah saying goodbye to Ak-To, the moment Noah embarked on his journey, Noah also realized... Asa Ak-To's choice to stay doomed the future of this great savior. Asa would never have the chance to travel to the vast universe again, and Asa's life was completely frozen on a planet.

The solution to save everything may be somewhere far away. Noah will go to find it, to find it on behalf of Asa, even if he has to go to the end of the universe.

But Noah could not find it, he failed. When he came back, he lost both.

BE,3030.

What does this mean?
Is there a way to end the endless cycle?
Or does it represent some more terrifying truth?

As early as the beginning of the World Game, Noel Akinni realized the vastness of the world - the ultimate solution to all the questions of the universe is difficult to answer by just staying at your feet.

Zhai Xing is too small and too fragile.

Rather than being a hometown, it feels more like a burden.

On countless nights, he looked at the "angel" Jupiter with a diameter of 142984 kilometers, the "cold" Mercury with a surface temperature of 452°C, the sun that can generate 3.828× 10-watts of heat, and the famous Orion Nebula (M1350), a star-forming region about 42 light-years from Earth. There is also the young star cluster visible to the naked eye, the Pleiades.

A total of 2000 to 3000 stars are visible to the naked eye on a clear night.

They lined up in the distance, as if rushing towards us.

What a vast and beautiful wisdom.

——He wants to fly into the universe.

He wanted to see the warmth and sunshine of spring with his own eyes.

He wants to take the glory of the pure white world with his own hands.

He wants to find personally the path that can solve the ultimate solution to the universe and completely end all this chaos.

——He continued to do what Noah didn't do.

——Noah fell and died and turned into a white bird, and he was covered with new white feathers.

Shake off the dirt, decorate the wings, and put on the rose hat.

……

——He will transform into a brand new white bird and fly away.

……

The land beneath your feet and the stars in the sky,
Which side is warmer?

Places I've been to and places I haven't been to,
Where is farther?

……

"【In our lifetime, we will meet many people, but the relationships between us are all born and die in a day, as fragile as flowing water." Su Mingan said.

Noel's gaze fell on the sea of ​​stars, and his left hand touched his chest:

"[…Only with you, it's like an endless river.]"

He still picked up the phone.

I continued with this sentence.

"Is this really what you want?" Su Ming'an's gaze seemed to fall on the brim of Noel's hat, and it seemed as if he penetrated the cloth and saw the blue sea in the distance.

"Yeah. That's it," Noel said.

"Then why don't you dare let me look into your eyes?" Su Mingan said.

"..."

The sound of the black water suddenly became louder, and the blond boy slowly turned around.

After a pause, he raised his head and showed his blue eyes to Su Mingan.

The blue, calm eyes without any bloodshot or red marks, clean, clear and bright, without any hesitation or sadness.

Like two transparent mirrors.

Su Ming'an's gaze trembled as he stared at Noel's eyes, copying them over and over again, until five seconds later he confirmed that a gully had inevitably appeared in their eyes.

Let's go over there.

There the leaves will wave to you, the stones will smile to you, and the river will greet you.

"You once said that you wanted to see a happy expression on my face." Su Mingan slowly clenched his five fingers.

There is neither poverty nor wealth there.

"That's in the past," Noel said.

There is no sadness and no pain.

"But you even gave me the key to the New World Guild." The light of space flickered on Su Mingan's fingertips.

There is no hatred or resentment.

"Oh." Noel looked nonchalant, as if he had just remembered: "By the way, you have to return the key to me."

There, everyone dies equally.

Noel stretched out his hand and thought of something else: "Also, remember to cancel your access to the villa. I will not enter your villa again...if you can still go back."

Su Mingan looked at him silently.

After a moment, a very soft voice came out of Su Mingan's mouth:
"In the snowstorm of the high-rise building in the ruined world, I looked back in the snowstorm and you once wished me a happy new year."

This was their moment of true trust in each other, and it was also his last redeeming words.

"Well... because I was thinking at that time..." Noel's tone became soft and warm for a moment, as if he had returned to his usual state.

Su Mingan's eyes froze for a moment, staring at Noel intently, his breath mixed with moisture, waiting for Noel's answer.

"I was thinking..." Noel's tone quickly returned to teasing, as if mocking some kind of expectation:
"I'm not actually thinking about anything. Why do you look so expectant? That will disappoint the first player."

Boom, boom, boom.

Each star, orbiting in the whale, radiates pure white light.

The cross light lit up, Su Mingan raised his hand, his left hand flashed with a scarlet claw shape, and finally aimed at Noel.

Noel narrowed his eyes, and a shadow appeared behind him. He held a blue-pink sickle in his hand, and his momentum suddenly rose.

“Hua-Hua-Hua-” the sound of black water lingered endlessly.

They were about to attack each other, and the momentum on both sides was rising.

——But at this moment.

Suddenly, a small voice floated out from nowhere:

"Can you hold on a little longer? ... Noel Akinni."

Noel's pupils dilated in surprise, revealing a brief moment of shock.

He looked around and made sure that there was no one else around before looking at Su Mingan and confirming that this was what Su Mingan said.

"Can...can you hold on a little longer?" Su Mingan said softly.

It was like the tone of someone coaxing a child.

At this moment, the rising momentum of both sides came to an end.

I don’t know whether to say this is the first player’s last attempt, or the usual strategy mode - the first player is trying to save things as much as possible before things slip to the edge of being uncontrollable.

Noel was stunned by Su Mingan's suddenly softening tone. He stood still as if he was unable to react.

"Look." Su Mingan pointed at the building block castle in Noel's hand and pointed at the square building block at the bottom:

"We are the two strongest players in the world right now. If we work together, we will definitely be much stronger than if we fight alone."

Noel was silent.

"Secondly." Su Mingan pointed to the rectangular building block in the middle:
"You have the [New World] Guild, and so many people support you. And I have the favor of the fifth and eleventh seats of the organizer. I can help you contact the more benevolent higher dimensions."

Then, Su Mingan pointed to the triangular building block at the top:

"Third, public opinion is advantageous. Now people are supporting the top players, and public opinion can be used."

Su Mingan withdrew his hand and looked at Noel:

"Fourth, you and I both have special identities. My identity is [The One in Power]. Maybe the World Game favors me, and this can help you."

Noel remained silent.

But his fingers were shaking, and the castle of blocks in his palms was trembling.

This scene...what a familiar scene.

……

[“Work with me, Player One.” From the grid of the Ferris wheel, Noel took out a pile of colorful building blocks, which looked like the building blocks that children love to play with.

Noel placed a square building block on the table and looked at Su Mingan.

"First of all," Noel said, "we are the two strongest players in the world right now. If we work together, we will definitely be much stronger than if we fight alone."

Su Mingan nodded.

"Secondly." Noel took out a rectangular building block and placed it on the square: "I own the [New World] Guild..."

Next came the triangular building block, which Noel placed on top of the rectangle. "Third, the advantage of public opinion..."]

……

why.

As to why things have come to this, the answer is extremely clear, yet also extremely confusing.

"Crack-!"

The building block castle was suddenly overturned to the ground.

At this moment, Noel overturned the building block castle in his palm.

Triangles, rectangles, squares...cracking and falling piece by piece.

The brim of the hat was raised, revealing blue eyes. The reflected shadow fell into their eyes, and Su Mingan saw pieces of falling birds in Noel's eyes.

A red bird in a triangle, a yellow bird in a rectangle, a blue bird in a square...

——Falling in front of his blue eyes.

The blond boy stepped forward and grabbed Su Mingan by the collar, with veins on his palms exposed.

"——What are you talking about?" Noel still had a bright smile on his face, as if it was glued to his face. He clutched his collar tightly:
"Are you awakening my past memories in order to impress me?"

"What if I'm tired of a world where you're the hero?"

"What if I have to go to the universe to find an answer?"

"If--"

……

“What if – I must end the cycle of BE3030!!!!??”

……

If so, what does this number really represent? ? ? If you stay here forever, can you escape from this quagmire! ? ?

Noel's roar caused the black water to surge continuously.

The swimming fish cast starlight, and the whales let out long, high roars.

"Gao——"

With a long cry, all the books shook.

Su Mingan was panting, and suddenly burst into laughter:

“Haha…hahahaha…!!”

“You’re still exposed. You can’t fool… you can’t fool me… you can’t even fool yourself… you… love us… ha, ha ha ha ha——!”

At this moment, a flash of sadness appeared in his eyes.

It felt like a tiny knife was scraping across my heart, and my whole body was aching.

It seems that everyone's survival rate depends on the efforts of the first player. Their happiness, their ending... all depend on him to create it personally, and rely on him to go far away and find a fleeting spark.

But at this moment, looking at Noel's flickering eyes, Su Mingan once again understood the definite answer -

It turns out, that’s what happened.

——He is not the only one who needs this kind of dependence the most.

The "star" with a diameter of 1392000 kilometers still turned to humanity, just like countless clichéd stories told by planetarium staff - the adventurer eventually went against his childhood ideas.

The soul that is stuck at the age of fourteen puts on adult clothes, wears an adult hat, and tries to live like an adult.

The clothes were too big, so he had to stuff a lot of cotton into them to make himself look like a strong man.

Because he is not tall enough, he has to wear high-padded shoes so that he can look at adults at eye level.

So when he was in pain and about to leave - he had to pile up a lot of smiles to make his eyes so calm.

He lost, he lost the bet he made - Su Mingan did not overturn his building block castle, he overturned his own building block castle.

But he didn't have any strawberry cake, and he was no longer holding any chocolate.

"...I still can't convince you?" After laughing, Su Ming'an looked at the broken building block castle and knew the definite answer.

Noel slowly let go of his hand, and after a brief silence, he returned to his calm smile: “Yeah.”

He stuffed the "cotton" into his face again, and his eyes were like a silent galaxy.

"Okay, then." Su Ming'an stopped his last attempt.

That was enough, Noel had expressed his complete determination in his roar.

So, it would be a bit awkward to continue talking about it.

He wasn't one to cling to an anchor... at least, he didn't think so.

After a long and silent tug of war, he regained his composure and nodded.

"So."

The rough stone in my heart rolled to the ground at this moment, causing a sharp pain.

There was a pop.

When he spoke again, his voice trembled slightly:
……

"——That's it, Noel. From now on, we are no longer companions."

……

He must have looked lonely for a moment.

Otherwise, why did those blue eyes reveal a similar moment of grief?
……

……

Lately, Noel has been having dreams about the past.

He dreamed that he was building blocks over and over again in that narrow Ferris wheel compartment.

Build it and then tear it down, build it and then tear it down.

Blah blah blah, blah blah.

Brilliant New Year's fireworks were blooming outside the window, and there was no one opposite him.

Later he looked at the empty seats and discovered.

……

——From the beginning, his guests sat opposite him, not beside him.

……