first player

Chapter 1436: Chapter : The Garden of Forking Paths

[The greatest luck in a person's life is to discover his mission in the middle of his life, that is, when he is young and strong. ]

[Fortunately, during our long observation and recording, we saw that you found your mission. ]

[No matter what choice you make. ]

[The world line where you succeed...will be a paradise for everyone. 】

【We wish you the best, Su Mingan. 】

[——Supreme Lord·《Ready Player One》·2024.12.31]

……

Emerald lake water, an epic poem.

Golden orchestra, shadows of angels and altars.

Dang——dang——dang——

The sound of a bell came from nowhere, echoing throughout the entire Highest Land.

Su Mingan stretched out his right hand and opened it, revealing a plastic-wrapped chocolate candy in his palm.

This was given to him by Yueyue. If he wanted to end this memory, he could eat the candy.

——But obviously, the scene before his eyes is no longer just a memory.

The woman with red hair and a shawl that he saw was the true embodiment of the World Game Consciousness. Her eyes were fixed on him.

The moment he took the key and opened the door, he had already broken away from the memories of the first World Game and saw the real World Game consciousness.

——“God” stepped into this place.

Not the twenty-seven gods, not a higher dimension, not a half-baked god.

But in the true sense... "God".

The organ of the universe, a magical thing that was born autonomously, and the embodiment of the world game consciousness.

——This place is the crack of "God".

He had long bright red hair and looked at his guest with a smile. During these long six months, he had passed by him and had a brief conversation with him.

"God. Should I call you...Xiao Na?" Su Mingan said softly.

The music around me became more and more pleasant, and illusory angels floated on the water. Incense burners, altars, stars, and knights. The face of the "person" with red hair and shawl became blurred, but the pair of flaming eyes remained clear.

"It's fine, whatever you like," He said.

"Do you choose me as the successor of World Game?" Su Mingan said.

"There is no such thing as a 'successor'. The World Game does not need a successor. An organ is an organ. It will function on its own and does not require human will to override it," He said.

"You don't need a successor? Aren't those twelve organizers your successors?" Su Ming'an said.

The chanting grew louder.

At this time, twelve phantoms appeared at the edge of the lake.

The first one is a pure white rabbit with ruby-red pupils and a blood-red scale embroidered on its belly.

The second one is a young man with purple hair and golden eyes, with soft ear feathers drooping naturally, wearing blood-red clothes, and holding a purple-gold feather pen.

The third one is a colorful semi-fluid substance with a clown mask and bright oil paint dripping inch by inch.

The fourth one is a pink fox with a slender body and a tail tip like a snake’s, covered with dark illusory pollution.

The fifth one is a hooded young man with a pair of moon-colored eyes, who is somewhat similar to the Elf King Huangala, and is surrounded by starlight.

The sixth track is empty.

The seventh is a child wearing a wreath of purple grapes and olive leaves, with a body made up of hearts, spades, clover and diamond cards.

The eighth one is a dark grey wandering soul, full of words and twisted lines, like the materialization of thoughts.

The ninth one is a ball of dark purple mist with a crystal ball of light at its core.

The tenth question: A bottle filled with colorful liquids. It is difficult to distinguish the colorful liquid and the glass bottle.

The eleventh one is a creature covered in a hood, with no skin exposed.

The twelfth one is a girl with flowing black hair and clear eyes, wearing a pink cat-ear hat and holding a frost rapier.

Their expressions were all cold and inorganic, as if they had no emotions or fluctuations, and were as pale and cold as sculptures.

Twelve phantoms surrounded the lake and also surrounded Su Mingan in the center, like the twelve marks of a clock.

Xiaona sat on a high stool in the middle of the lake and said calmly, "They are just some mortals who are entertaining themselves. Apart from Boss Rabbit, the World Game has never admitted anyone to attend. Their joining is either due to Boss Rabbit's invitation, or the accidental involvement of wandering high-dimensional beings, or the upgrading of players. However, the operation of the World Game does not require anyone. They are just a piece of appendix that can be cut or not, trapped in the body of the World Game, showing off in front of the players who do not know the truth."

At this point, 'He' glanced sideways and smiled at Su Mingan:
"However, this is the first time I've seen them be so interested in a player. Maybe you're really likable."

For the third time, Su Mingan felt himself standing in front of the aquarium.

The glass of the aquarium had been completely shattered, and sharks and other carnivorous fish had already been swimming with him.

"I only have one big question." Su Ming'an said calmly: "-Reincarnation, how many layers of nesting dolls are there?"

Xiaona's eyes were as cold as frozen blood vessels: "What if I ask you? With your intelligence, can you give the correct answer?"

Su Mingan closed his eyes for a moment, then slowly opened them:
"4."

The correct answer is 4.

From small to large, the inner circle gradually spreads to the outer circle.

The first cycle: Luowasha Si Que's time authority. (Reason: Si Que's artificial time authority can change Luowasha's internal time.)
Second cycle: Luowasha reset. (Reason: Si Que cooperated with the World Tree to explore the beginning and end of different eras again and again.)
The third cycle: World game cycle. (Reason: unknown. But it is known that the world game cycle has been more than 400 million times.)
The fourth cycle: the Big Bang cycle. (Reason: It is speculated to be a cosmic rule. Theories similar to the "cosmic cycle theory" and "Poincare recurrence" believe that the universe has been destroyed countless times since its first birth, and the starting point of each universe is the end point of the previous universe. After extremely long years, any particle will eventually return to a position infinitely close to the origin, which is the cosmic cycle.)
There is an inclusive relationship between them: smallest circle - small circle - big circle - largest circle, and so on.

As the levels increase, they are all counted by multiplication.

For example, suppose Si Que used the power of time 100 times, and Rovasha underwent 3030 major resets, and the world game looped more than 10 million times, and the Big Bang occurred times.

Then the final number of cycles = 100*3030*423273031*10
In addition, there is a fifth cycle, which is Su Mingan’s death rollback, which has not been taken into account.

Su Mingan thought:

"Both the first and second cycles are designed to arrange the memory lenses in a reasonable way, reducing entropy increase while maintaining its own unique diversity, allowing civilization to move towards the best path."

"Then, I speculate that the third and fourth cycles have the same goal. It's just that they are not only targeting Luo Vasha, but the entire universe!"

"With the advent of the World Game, the world corresponding to each dungeon is becoming more and more perfect. When the day comes when all dungeons have achieved 'Perfect TE' - it means that the entire universe has also achieved 'Perfect TE'!"

Su Mingan spoke faster, and his heart beat faster.

"That moment was the formation of the 'Book of the Universe'. The 'Dramatic Memory Lenses' of all universes were perfectly aligned, which meant 'the establishment of everything perfect and complete'. We have completely found a way to prevent heat death and stop the Big Bang cycle!"

"I'm afraid all of this is prepared for that moment! System."

Xiaona smiled silently.

He seemed to admit everything and approved of Su Mingan's speculation.

All concepts start from the small.

Rovasha - corresponds to the universe.

Book of the World - corresponds to the Book of the Universe.

Luo Vasa's dramatic memory lens/development direction - corresponding to the dramatic memory lens/development direction of the universe.

What Si Que and the World Tree did corresponds to what the World Game did.

They are all similar.

"It doesn't matter." Xiaona sighed: "...It's all the same."

The chanting became louder and louder, and twelve shadows appeared hazily in the lake.

The fog became thicker and thicker. The scent of flowers, plants, paper money... all kinds of aromas were floating in the air.

"…But there is one thing that I am particularly confused about." Su Mingan raised his eyes.

"I know what you want to ask." Xiaona curled her lips: "You want to ask, what happened at the end of the first world game?"

Su Mingan nodded.

He clapped his hands.

A black and white piano emerged from the lake.

The piano floated out against the current, with tiny drops of liquid dripping down the shell like a sharp blade that parted the Red Sea, or like a black tombstone growing out of the water.

"...When I was exploring the worlds as a human, I enjoyed all kinds of music."

"And in Zhai Xing, my favorite piece is Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 6 In A Minor."

"The number one player...Su Mingan."

"Will you play this on the piano for me, for the worlds, for my companions, for my enemies, for the fortunate and the unfortunate, for the dead and the dying, for those who sleep and those who wake, for those who bow their heads or hold their heads high in defiance, for yourself?"

"I hope to tell the truth in your moving piano music."

Su Mingan was silent for a moment.

The music in my ears became louder. The shadows of the angels took out harps, violins, cellos...

A ray of light hits the center of the lake, illuminating the black and white piano, as if it were a stage for destiny.

Downward steps appeared in front of Su Mingan. The high platform in the center slowly sank, and the lake as a whole showed a concave structure. However, the lake water did not swallow the piano, leaving a bright and clear space for performance.

"Da da da."

Su Mingan walked down the stairs.

Once, he was walking upwards, but he felt like he was falling.

Now, as he walked downward, he felt as if he were ascending.

The truth, he knew many truths, and then what?
Is his hometown still in his hands? How can he protect it?
The more he knew the vast truth, the more insignificant he felt. He had thought that this was a game where he could save his hometown by clearing the dungeon, just like a brave warrior fighting monsters, leveling up and defeating the devil... It was true, but the truth behind it was far more vast and profound than this basic logic.

With his fingers on the keys, he seemed to be back to his childhood. How many days and nights he had spent sitting in front of a piano like this. At that time, he was mostly thinking about tonight's homework, tomorrow's math class, and... and the horror game he hadn't finished.

Now?

just now.

Now it is the cyclic theory of the Big Bang, the truth of the inner and outer circles of the four cycles, the attention of the world game consciousness, the Book of the World and the Book of the Universe, and the waiting of tens of billions of lives.

The moment his index finger was about to hit the keys, he heard a soft sound.

"Wait a moment."

Xiaona stood beside him, her red hair fluttering.

The lake water around him was hanging upside down, maintaining a moment of stagnation. He sat on the dry bottom of the lake, as if he might be swallowed by the lake at any time, but the water was still.

Xiaona opened his palm and found a chocolate in it.

"You still have a chance to swallow this chocolate and return to the Spiritual Dream Envoy." Xiaona said, "If you don't swallow it, I will take this chocolate away and will not give you the chance to return."

"Is the following content...very confidential?" Su Mingan said.

"Oh, that's right." Xiaona said, "What I'm going to tell you next is top secret information. Even for me, it will cost me a lot. I won't allow you to know everything and then turn around and run back to the dream of the Spiritual Dream Envoy and never come out again. After knowing everything, you must take responsibility."

Su Mingan stared at the chocolate in his palm.

——He had to admit that in his heart he approved of Yueyue's path.

A dream of tranquility, happiness and peace, even if it sacrifices future potential, is definitely the wish of most people. If a democratic vote is held in the whole world, Yueyue will definitely win.

He didn't like making decisions for everyone and forcing them to wake up. But there was no way, he always ended up involuntarily in this position again and again.

Now, he had to make a decision.

——Eat the chocolate, give up knowing the rest of the truth, return to Yueyue’s dream, and live the life he has always dreamed of.

An ordinary, peaceful, tranquil life.

A world where Lu Shu, Lin Yin, Yamada Machiichi, Lu, Bei Wang, Luna... are all alive.

——Or, don’t eat the chocolate, play the piano, cut off your own path to look back, and continue to listen to Xiaona’s truth.

The reason for Noel's betrayal.

Can the gods of Yunshang City return home?

Where did Su Liujin go?

What did Hui Bai, Ran Bo and others do.

And...can Si Que Olivers open his eyes.

"……Ah."

He couldn't help but make a sound that sounded like laughter, but also like a cry.

This should be the most important decision in his life.

This was the third time he felt the sense of choice at the crossroads.

The first time was when he founded the Summit Alliance.

The second time was after the end of the Ninth World, when he decided to change the number of members in the Peak Alliance.

The third time, right here.

Now that I think about it, this feeling... should be something called the "hippocampus effect", or "déjà vu".

Yes, it has happened more than once.

It doesn't matter, it's all the same.

"Both roads are correct... There is no trolley problem this time, because no one is tied to the two tracks. No matter which road the trolley chooses, it will go far away..." Su Mingan muttered to himself:

"Whichever way you go, it's the right way. No one can judge right or wrong..."

My mind and my actions are as clear as a mirror.

What you did was not justice.

No matter what, he must bear the consequences of his choice. All the burdens and sins, all the sorrows and tears...

Even if I can't pay it back...

He will bear it.

He will atone.

It seemed like a long time had passed, yet it seemed like only a moment had passed.

He picked up the chocolate in his palm and made a decision -