first player

Chapter 1540: Final Chapter·Sea Chapter [31]·"Where is the End?"

Noel said:
"You still think 'perfect' is better, right?"

Because it was Noel's memory, Su Mingan could not see his blue eyes, and could only see Noel's slightly moving lips out of the corner of his eye.

"Yes." Qin Si looked at Noel and said.

"It doesn't matter. You pursue yours and I pursue mine... Maybe, there is a possibility that we both achieve our wishes." Noel withdrew his gaze from the air and shrugged at Qins.

"How do you know this information? Even if you turn Lovasha upside down, there is no way she can know it." Qins asked.

"The Lord of the End of All Things," said Noel.

Noel has more information than Su Mingan, which is related to their identities. As the first player, Su Mingan cannot rely on the Lord of the End of All Things to obtain information, but Noel is different. Noel has more freedom of action and does not have the heavy responsibility of "must live to lead everyone", so he can boldly become a villain.

Therefore,
"So, Noel, you are not reconciled to the formation of the 'Book of the Universe' and are unwilling to be bound by 'perfection'. You choose the side of the Lord of the End of All Things and think that He can help you change everything, right?" Su Mingan thought.

—But you are dead, Noel.

What is the meaning of death? Can death change anything?

Or do you think that death is not the end, not the finality?

Is that bunch of Lycoris radiata, the meaning of which I don’t know, a proof that you believe “death is not the end”?

……

Su Mingan opened his eyes.

After the memory was read, Noel's body was absorbed into his body through the power of "devouring". White light rolled up his sleeves, rolled up the hem of his clothes, and rolled up his long hair that flowed like mercury.

The white snow drifted into the tree, brushing past his slightly frowned brows.

“Su Mingan, let’s go and catch up with the small world.” Lu Shu looked towards the distant sky.

"...Well, let's go." Su Mingan said.

Lu Shu unclenched his fists, feeling a sense of relief as if everything had finally settled... It was finally over, all the pain was finally over.

Everyone left, leaving behind only an empty Rovasha. It would be meaningless even if Snow White, the Lord of the End of All Things, destroyed this place. Now that they had cleared this last copy, their mission was accomplished.

However, Lu Shu still had a strong sense of unreality, as if he had just finished a long run and was still extremely tired and unable to recover, as if he had ended a dream that he thought would never end.

After the initial confusion and bewilderment, apart from the pain for Noel, there followed a strong sense of relief.

“Su Mingan, catching up with the small world is not an easy task. We need to heal our wounds and beware of other enemies following our lead. We won’t be able to catch up in a short time.” Lu Shu turned around and smiled:
"But the good thing is that when we catch up with the small world, the situation there will have stabilized. Yamada Machi and the others will definitely be able to handle everything. You just need to rest. Everything is over..."

"We can go on a trip. Although it's not the original Zhai Xing scenery, it looks similar. Sooner or later, we will find the original Zhai Xing location. You can hide your identity and continue to go to college. Anyway, the tasks have been handed over to Yamada Machi and the others, so you can have a good rest..."

Lu Shu had always seen Su Mingan's pain. It could even be said that he was the one who cared the most about Su Mingan's pain.

Although he thought that if the price of ending the world game was unacceptable, he would rather never end it, but he still hoped that Su Mingan's dream would come true. Fortunately, the current results were very good, and bright days were just around the corner.

Su Mingan would definitely like that new world.

However, Lu Shu took a few steps outside and realized that Su Mingan did not follow him.

Su Ming'an stayed where he was, without taking any further steps. His back was attached to the branches of the World Tree, his long hair was all white, and he stood silently like a lonely maple tree.

"You..." Lu Shu's lips moved. Why didn't you follow me? Why did you stand there? Happiness was so close.

As he looked at it, he felt a sense of strangeness, as if the person standing under the tree had silently turned into a white statue.

His heartbeat began to accelerate and his palms began to feel numb - in fact, he realized it, in fact, he had realized it a long time ago, but his brain deceived his mind, making him not think about it too much, making him think that as long as he didn't mention it, it wouldn't happen.

——And the boy with white hair and red eyes appeared here at this moment.

The scarlet scales "clicked", and the surrounding area was filled with the bright red of a candle. Plop, plop, it was like the sound of blood flowing, like the sound of a beating heart. The ruby-like eyes looked at Su Mingan under the World Tree. Boss Rabbit raised his index finger to his lower lip and said indifferently:
"According to the first bet - if [Zhai Xing finally falls], Su Mingan wins, and the organizer must let Zhai Xing go. If [Zhai Xing does not finally fall], Su Mingan loses, and the organizer takes him away."

"The bet is concluded as follows: The organizer takes Su Mingan away."

"According to the second bet - if [Su Mingan fails to clear the Luowasha dungeon], Su Mingan will be taken away by the World Game."

"The result of the bet is: Su Mingan was taken away by the World Game."

"The settlement is complete."

Su Ming'an listened calmly, his body stained with Noel's blood.

——He did not go to the small world with the others, but was dragged here and did not escape from the scope of the world game. Therefore, the bet will take effect.

The moment he chose to stay here, he knew that the world game would come to him.

"No, Su Mingan previously defeated a TE called the Last Supper. He told us that he also returned to the main god world. How can you say that Su Mingan failed to clear the Luowasha dungeon?" Lu Shu immediately retorted.

Boss Rabbit said calmly: "That's fake."

Before Lu Shu could say anything, Boss Rabbit said, "If you want a perfect ending, you must do everything perfectly. Did you do this instance of Luowasha perfectly?"

"So, what's going on?" Su Mingan's low voice came:
"What is 'perfect'?"

Boss Rabbit looked over and saw a crystal-like figure under the tree.

Su Mingan looked up at it.

An ending like this where most people survived can't be considered "perfect"? Only when all the truths are revealed can it be considered "perfect"?
The World Game's standard for measuring whether a civilization is worth surviving is whether it is interesting enough, so whether it is a "perfect clearance" or not depends on whether what players discover is interesting.

Whether it is watchable, entertaining, shocking... these are the criteria for judging "perfection". It is like putting a sad epic of civilization on a movie screen for people to judge for their own amusement. If it is interesting, it will survive, but if it is boring, it will be destroyed.

Like the confusion that Squidward Olivers once asked, if a person must go through tragedy in order to shine, then does he have to go through tragedy?
If a world must experience the crying of nightingales, the demise of pioneers, and epic poems to be "interesting" enough, then does it have to go through these pains and sacrifices?
It is this kind of life, world, and universe that is like ratings that Noel Akinni opposes. He hates that everything is judged by "whether it is good-looking or not", "whether it is interesting or not", and "whether it has a high rating or not".

The scarlet candle came wrapped around it, like blood flowing in a mortar; a blood-red big hand pulled over and touched Su Mingan's white hair.

Due to his obsession and maniacal pursuit of "perfect clearance", he was the one who pursued "perfection" the most from the beginning to the end. He was even tempted by the perfect clearance marks on the backs of people's hands and called hope a "lighthouse". However, at this moment of the end, he no longer concealed his confusion.

The "lighthouse" is a disguise, he has always known it, he has been hypnotizing himself and deceiving himself.

Just for "Zhai Xing", he used "lighthouse" as a cover and "lighthouse theory" to induce people to position themselves.

What he really wanted was the ship illuminated by the light, not the light itself.

He placed his left palm on his right palm, and covered the back of his hand with the palm of his hand. The perfect white flower-like pass mark was covered. He was silent for a moment, and when he removed his hand again, the back of his hand was covered in blood, and the white mark penetrated between the broken flesh.

——It is dangerous to be controlled by obsessions under long-term self-hypnosis. He broke his obsessions with his own hands and bruised the back of his hand into a bloody mess.

Although the marks were still there, deeply engraved in his heart, he could only see the bloody scars.

People are safe now and he is no longer a "lighthouse".

"boom--!"

Lu Shu drew his sword.

He tried to cut off those blood-red hands, but he could not cut off the power of the rules of the world game.

Is there any way to avoid the bet, is there any way... He gritted his teeth.

It wasn't supposed to be like this, something was off.

It was absolutely wrong to just watch Su Mingan leave like this. Noel's death was too easy, and the ending was too sudden, which made him feel a strong sense of unreality, just like... a piece of music suddenly stopped.

Si Que... Xinghuo... Su Liujin... Eleventh seat... Who on earth can change this outcome? Who can, who...

“——Ha, hahahaha! Hahaha!!!”

Suddenly, there was a burst of laughter.

There was a burst of shrill, wild, loud laughter.

“Ahahaha, haha ​​...!”

“Hahahahahaha, hahahahahaha!!!”

Explosive, strong and sharp.

The familiar colorful flow gradually formed a twisted semi-liquid state. The man was wearing a clown mask and laughing. As soon as he appeared, a blood-red hand hovered.

"Casadia, taking him away is the judgment of the rules." Boss Rabbit said lightly: "You protect him, do you want to be wiped out by the rules?"

The person who came was the long-lost Second Seat, the Fun Demon Cassadia. The demon was suspended in the air, seven colors of paint flowing continuously, and laughed loudly:
"If I remember correctly, these bets were decided at the moment when the world game ended."

"But - what if I say that the World Game isn't over yet?"

His words were very strange. The players had all fled, and the Rovashas had also fled, so why wasn't the eleventh instance considered finished?
"A copy can only be considered over after defeating the big boss. Now that the big boss is still alive, how can it be considered over!?" The Fun Devil laughed loudly, and a sharp and high tone came out from behind the mask: "I apply for - World Game! You, judge for me, judge the survival status of the big boss!"

Boss Rabbit's eyes flickered.

The snow seemed to be suspended in this moment.

Lu Shu held the knife tightly.

The swaying branches froze for a moment.

The next moment——

The branches and leaves of the World Tree behind Su Mingan's spine suddenly turned blood red.

This was not a simple change of color, but these branches and leaves pierced through Su Mingan's chest in an instant.

"cough……!"

Several branches and leaves dripping with blood protruded from Su Mingan's chest, almost lifting him up.

If he had not lifted the "symbiotic" skill between the World Tree, Lu Shu, and the gods of Yunshang City, I'm afraid these branches and leaves would have pierced through them as well.

A childish voice came from inside the World Tree: "He has not returned to the main world yet, and the settlement has not jumped out, but a new BOSS has appeared. The Luowasha copy has not ended, so - the world game has not ended, you can't take Su Mingan away."

This voice is the consciousness of the World Tree, the consciousness of the savior who was willing to transform himself into a tree in the past.

At this moment, Su Mingan felt a headache and suddenly heard a hallucination:
……

[“As the Lord of the Realm, I hope that this planet and this world can be happy.”]

[“After a long period of observation and sleep, I figured out that the solution that has a 99.999% chance of making this planet happy is,”]

【“——Humanity is extinct.”】

[“Let humans who have been causing pollution and killing for tens of millions of years die, turn into fertilizer, and return energy. Then this devastated planet will be able to recover.”]

“Humans are harmful.”

[“The above is the answer to your question.”]

【“May this planet be blessed.”】

……

...When was this said?
Why did this sound in his mind? If this was what the World Tree said, then it had a reason to be the boss.

"Is it useful to delay like this?" Boss Rabbit said calmly, "Since he is the BOSS, if one side loses or loses the will to fight, it will still end. It's just a delay. You are just a tree and can't take him away."

However, there is another way to break this situation. Su Mingan can directly die and go back to the previous game. But he did not do this. Because if he did it again, the situation would not change. He needed information or things that could change the situation.

Su Mingan held the branches and leaves in front of his chest with one hand and activated the power of "devouring". His scarlet mouth opened in his palm and the branches and leaves dissolved as if they were being digested.

He took a breath, his complexion improved for a moment, and he turned around decisively.

——World Tree, you finally regained consciousness. Let me see who you really are.

"Swish!" The other hand shot out the puppet thread backwards, instantly wrapped around the trunk of the World Tree, and suddenly pulled it back with the backhand!
His body was like a bent water pipe, forming a crescent shape. He dragged the branches and leaves on his back, used the pulling force to somersault, and broke the surface of the trunk with one foot.

The devouring claw on his left hand stretched forward, and with a head-numbing tearing sound, it tore through the layers of tree trunks.

"Shh!"

The trunk of the tree suddenly opened up, letting in light.

Inside the World Tree, there is a figure, which is the incarnation of the World Tree's consciousness.

In the past, due to the confusion of the World Tree, it was not possible to see the appearance of this person, only the dark roots. But at this moment, with the awakening of consciousness, this person became clear.

——And Su Mingan also clearly saw the appearance of this person.

Long black hair, black and slightly round eyes, a not-so-sharp nose and slightly upturned lips.

"you……"

Su Mingan judged that he would most likely see a strange face. After all, this was a savior who turned into a world tree very early in the history of Luowasa. He had not yet arrived in Luowasa at that time, so it was impossible for him to recognize him.

There was a small chance that he would see a familiar face, such as the Su Mingan bot launched by the Dawn System, or the gods of Yunshang City concealing his history of becoming the World Tree. These possibilities were all ridiculous and almost impossible.

But there is an absolutely zero possibility that he saw it.

There is someone who absolutely cannot be the World Tree.

"Su..." Su Ming'an grabbed the branches with his hands and looked at the figure in the shadows of the leaves.

——The girl looked at him calmly.

Time seems to be reversed.

The space seems to be intertwined.

They stared at each other across the layers of branches and leaves, across the floating smell of paper money, across the suspended air and stagnant time.

A few strands of black hair floated up and brushed across the ends of Su Mingan's pale hair.

The girl floated over, dragging extremely heavy branches and leaves all over her body. Countless branches and leaves confined her tightly inside the tree trunk, like a spider's cocoon. She stretched out her arms that were pulling countless blue silk threads, held Su Mingan's bloodstained face with both hands, and closed the distance to no more than ten centimeters.

Through the gap in the tree trunk, she held Su Mingan's face, like a fool in the cave, looking at the wise man who finally returned from outside the cave.

Excitement, complexity, happiness, anticipation, pain, struggle, hesitation, sadness... too many unspeakable emotions slip through those eyes that have seen thousands of things, like one snow-white boat after another passing through the ocean, or one flock of geese after another crossing the waves.

"I... have been waiting for a long time." Her voice was dry and a smile filled her face, as bitter as a song.

Her hands trembled slightly, and Su Ming'an's blood slid down her fingers that had turned into trees, falling drop by drop into the gap in the tree hole that was like an abyss.

Only breathing is silent.

Only the fingertips are hot.

……

"——Father God."

……

Only one person would call him that.

Only one person would look at him like that.

There is no reason for this person to be the World Tree.

……

【That was the spring of hope, that was the winter of disappointment;】

We were all going straight to heaven, we were all going straight in the opposite direction—in short, it was so much like it is now that some of the most vociferous authorities insist on describing it in superlatives.

[To say it is good is the highest level; to say it is bad is also the highest level. ]

【——Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities】

……

(End of this chapter)