first player

Chapter 1567 Final Chapter: Guarding the Coastline: "OE: Die from the Ocean (2)"

Arriving at the "New World Hub Tower" where Su Bread is located, the scene before your eyes is breathtaking.

A towering "tower" pierces the sky, its entire body displaying a fantastical, multifaceted blue texture, resembling a straight blue crystal sword. Upon closer inspection, each layer is inlaid with colorless tempered glass, allowing light to permeate the interior day and night.

The world hub, with its 256 floors, is a giant artificial floating island standing on the high seas of the Pacific Ocean. It embodies the concepts of denationalization, new order, and global unity in the "post-game era," and avoids reinforcing the old hegemony.

This symbolizes a new beginning that truly transcends nation-states and belongs to all of humanity.

Surrounding this long sword stand twelve towers, each responsible for guarding and regulating it.

Su Ming'an stealthily entered the high-tech Blue Sword building, and people dressed in white brushed past him.

The hall is spacious, and what comes into view is a "wall of a hundred flags", which stands with colorful flags from various countries, as well as the flag in the very center, which represents the "world hub".

In the center of the flag is a pure white, half-open flower, like a white camellia.

This is the perfect pass mark on the back of Su Ming'an's hand, which became the design for the flag of the highest authority. The flag fluttered in the cold air, and an inscription on the wall read, "This wall is dedicated to the heroes, wise men, and ordinary people of all nations."

Su Ming'an stared at the pattern and chuckled to himself.

On the wall behind them hung portraits of leaders from various major factions and top-ranked players. Su Ming'an saw his own headshot first. The black-haired youth gazed quietly at the camera, his black pupils as calm as a lake. His young face stood out sharply among the group of middle-aged leaders.

He didn't know when the photo was taken; it was probably a screenshot from a live stream recording, but the angle was perfect, making it look like his ID photo. The background had also been photoshopped out, leaving only the dignified dark blue.

...Such a neat photo, just change to a black and white filter... He immediately slapped his head. After listening to his companions talk about it too much, he was starting to make hellish jokes himself. It was too unlucky.

The photo wall is in an arc shape, perhaps because arranging it from left to right is too sensitive and difficult to arrange, so the photos are arranged in concentric circles.

“This is politics…” Su Ming’an murmured the somewhat unfamiliar term, then slowly shook his head: “Anything that rises to this level becomes very complicated…”

Further on, one can glimpse the tower's vast interior—a central open space offering views from the first floor to the hundredth, with an endless expanse of deep blue stretching upwards, like the profound universe. The 256-story structure resembles an intricate honeycomb, with each layer's edges flowing with an icy blue hue.

Fifty fully transparent elevators, seemingly pulled by silken threads, sped along horizontal and vertical tracks within a massive circular cavity, like white stars adorning the ring. Occasionally, glimpses of figures in pure white uniforms, some focused, some weary, could be seen inside the elevator cars. People, events, objects, and even the elevators themselves were all orderly and well-organized.

—Shocking.

This was Su Ming'an's first thought.

Although the tower had been built for a long time, he always teleported directly to Su Bread's office whenever he came to see her, never pausing to appreciate the beauty and grandeur of such a magnificent creation of humankind.

The fast pace of the game world often prevents him from slowing down. Only at this moment can he stop thinking about anything and simply walk around quietly, like the walks he takes with Yueyue after school every sunset.

However, the sun had set, leaving only a cold blue light.

He walked quietly through the scenery, feeling a sense of loss.

What he didn't see was that some employees who brushed past him were unconsciously bowing in his direction. They placed their right hands on their chests, their posture quite solemn.

The "Ming'an System" surveillance is ubiquitous.

People have become accustomed to this.

Su Ming'an looked up at the towering dome. For a moment, he hallucinated the central tower of the ruined world of Lin Guang, as if someone would walk towards him at any moment.

"...Father God?"

An old voice rang out.

Su Ming'an came to his senses and saw a soft piece of bread flying beside him; it was a flying communicator.

“The ‘Ming’an System’ has detected your arrival. Please follow me.” A slightly excited voice came from inside the bread.

Su Ming'an was surprised for a moment... Although his invisibility was just a simple concealment of his aura, he did not expect that the "Ming'an System" could detect it. It seems that the small world's tens of thousands of years of learning and calculation of the knowledge of the ruins world has subtly surpassed its predecessor.

"Let's go," he said.

……

"Tick."

Xiao Xiao pressed the floating screen on her wrist to complete her daily check-in.

Looking at his busy colleagues in white coats, he felt like a husky mixed in with a pack of wolves.

He himself didn't know why he was hired by such a prestigious place, a place filled with the most powerful and influential people in the world, where even a menial worker was someone he wouldn't even dare to dream of working for. And yet, he, a tavern singer, casually submitted a job application, and it was accepted!
He'd be incredibly lucky to even get into a small county-level organization, let alone be recruited by the "World Hub Tower"! It's like a county student who only wanted to be a neighborhood clerk, but ended up being recruited by the world's highest united organization!

Five days into his job, he still couldn't believe it. But Wang Zhenzhen was overjoyed. They had been worried that they wouldn't be able to afford a house for their wedding after they returned, but now they didn't have to worry anymore. This was a golden opportunity! He wanted to throw a big party, but due to the confidentiality agreement, he had to keep quiet.

Looking around, the central atrium of the spire is a huge space that my colleagues call the "Blue Column Gallery".

The air was filled with a high-frequency hum, the background noise of countless servers operating, mixed with "tick-tock" sounds, such as authentication, data stream access, command confirmation... rising and falling like dense raindrops.

Those "big shots" walked briskly, their clothes billowing in the wind. Their conversation drifted into Xiao Xiao's ears, making his teeth ache and his head ache:
"...The volatility of the 'civilization correction' model has exceeded the limit again, and the entropy increase prediction curve needs a third correction..."

"Antarctic 'cold storage' report: Paleontological gene sample No. 7 shows activity fluctuations; requesting the 'Life Sequence' team to intervene and analyze..."

"The photosynthetic efficiency of the 'Paradise Project' ecological dome is lower than expected, the energy allocation agreement needs to be fine-tuned, and an application should be submitted to 'Bread Bot'..."

"The Pacific Circulation Model data packet transmission is interrupted. Is the Cradle Tower node of Tower 72 experiencing another problem? Check it out..."

Every single term sent chills down Xiao Xiao's spine. Civilization correction? Entropy increase prediction? Cold storage? Paradise? Cradle? Bread? These words, put together, didn't sound like managing the world, but rather like—"shaping" or "defining" the world. She felt like an illiterate person who had stumbled into the highest academy of sciences.

...Oh, he can understand the word "bread" though.

What Xiao Xiao didn't know was that his guess was correct. The "World Hub" wasn't meant for doing odd jobs or managing the world, but rather for further shaping and creating the "small world." It was equivalent to tens of thousands of "Olivies" gathering here, using machines and quantum computers as "pens" and "erasers" to "carve" and "embellish" this world bit by bit.

In the past, it was the generations who depicted it in turn.

Today, all the world's top minds have gathered together to share their wisdom.

Xiao Xiao shrank back, trying to make himself less noticeable. After all, he was a husky, so why not just coast along? Since he had only been there for a few days, the personal computer hadn't assigned him any tasks. He was still getting familiar with the personal computer... well, he had only just learned how to boot it up.

Just then, all the robots were busy, and he was assigned a task: to deliver a metal box.

He carefully moved along the cold, blue barrier wall, clutching the metal box. The box was covered with complex codes and warning labels, but he didn't dare look at a single word closely, only knowing that it had to be delivered to the "Matter Reconstruction Laboratory."

"Crack——!"

Just then, a huge blue barrier "door" silently slid open beside them, and someone stepped out, revealing an enormous circular space. Xiao Xiao glanced at it subconsciously and was instantly frozen in place.

There were no walls inside, only geometric structures suspended in mid-air. Tens of thousands of data streams, like a tangible galaxy waterfall, reflected the dozen or so white-clad figures sitting around a circular control panel below.

"...The 'World Tree' has been connected." A metallic, emotionless male voice rang out, belonging to an old man with a face as stern as a rock: "Entering the next 'copying' cycle. This 'copying' will focus on adjusting the 'social system' and 'player system,' with the key goal of narrowing the gap and alleviating class conflicts between players and non-players."

"'Copying' implies partial information silence and resource freezing, a risk level of B." A woman with a surgically sharp demeanor immediately responded, "I suggest activating the 'Paradise' contingency plan first to complete the buffer."

"I second that." Another tired man rubbed his temples. "But we need to coordinate resource allocations in Eastern Europe, and the temple's expansion needs are also a high priority..."

Xiao Xiao felt like he was watching a meeting of gods. He didn't dare to breathe and just wanted to slip away as quickly as possible.

"Stop!" A strong voice rang out from behind.

Xiao Xiao jolted and stiffly turned around. A tall woman with long beige hair, wearing the same white uniform with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, was looking at him. Her hair was disheveled, and she held a steaming cup of coffee in her hand. Her eyes were sharp like a hawk's, but a playful smile played on her lips.

"New here? Xiao... Xiao?" The woman glanced at Xiao Xiao's ID card. "Why are you running around carrying around the prototype of the 'Northern Temperature'? You've got some nerve. Do you know that if this thing falls to the ground, everyone on this floor will be fined three months' salary?"

Xiao Xiao's face turned deathly pale, her hands instantly stiffening like iron. She felt as if she were holding not a spare part, but a black hole that could explode at any moment. She hurriedly stammered, trembling, "I...I'm sorry! I...I was holding it with both hands..."

He was on the verge of tears... Being a "husky" is so tiring!
The woman with long beige hair chuckled, strode over, and unceremoniously pressed a spot on the box. The dangerous red indicator light on the box instantly turned green: "Alright, the shield is activated, it won't break. But next time, make sure you know the way and don't peek around at the entrance of the 'Decision Corridor'."

"Yes!" Xiao Xiao felt as if he had been granted a pardon. Only then did he recognize the woman: "You...you are Dr. Isabella?"

“I recognize you. You appeared in Su Ming’an’s live stream. Your name is Xiao Xiao, right?” Isabella took a swig of liquid from her glass, her gaze sweeping over the massive circular decision-making room. The smile on her face faded slightly, and she muttered a low hum, “…Hmph, these people are going to cause trouble again. Do they really think they’re so great just because they’ve won a few world awards? They’ve never even experienced the World Game, yet they want to use their old arrogant ways to suppress the player-affiliated researchers… Tsk… Humanity hasn’t changed in thousands of years…”

She shook her head, turned and strolled in another direction, seemingly humming an off-key tune, completely out of place in the efficient atmosphere.

Xiao Xiao, clutching the box, watched the woman's departing figure, her cheeks flushed, her heart pounding with nervousness.

...A player-driven researcher? An old-school researcher?
It seems that factional conflicts exist among humans everywhere.

Xiao Xiao glanced at the "Decision-Making Corridor" with awe. There, the most brilliant minds in the world discussed global networks, adjusted ecological balance, and made decisions that "depicted" the world.

And this is only the 136th floor.

He looked up at the unfathomable sky, where he could vaguely make out the outlines of buildings more than two hundred stories high. The sky was like a canopy, the universe boundless, as if countless stars were falling upon him.

...What will they discuss above the 150th floor?

...What kind of scene would it be above the two hundredth floor?

The 256th floor, the highest floor, who is there?
Xiao Xiao took a deep breath, feeling his whole body burning, his breath trembling, the stimulation unbearable. At this moment, he truly realized the gap between himself and Su Ming'an. The latter could easily step into the highest level, while he, he should have been someone who couldn't even enter the small tower in the county town.

However, they had spoken face-to-face many times in the game world...

It was as if he had a vague and long dream, where he met people he would never have met in his entire life, and saw things he would never have seen in his entire life.

The game of the world has ended, and so has a dream. Many people changed their fates, but most returned to where they were.

"Why was I hired..." Xiao Xiao stared at the dome and murmured, "Is it really because of what the job offer said, that I have a high level of inspiration and am good at making up stories? Is that all there is to it?"

He paused for a moment, then suddenly realized he was going to be late. He quickly grabbed the metal box, muttering, "Oh no! I'm going to get yelled at," and rushed off into the distance.

……

The 250th floor.

Inside the "Obelisk Council Hall," the most central and highest-security building within the Hengxu Obelisk, twenty-six figures sit on thirty suspended seats—the core decision-making body supporting the operation of this global hub, the members of the "Bread Council."

The first chair was empty, symbolizing the vacant position of "Lord of the Realm," yet people's gazes kept subtly sweeping over that spot, carrying various emotions.

Holographic projections silently intertwine and shift in the center, displaying a chaotic global landscape after the world game ends: localized conflicts arising from resource competition, the proliferation of cults due to the collapse of old beliefs, destruction caused by the abuse of game skills, and a state of disorder caused by the collapse of infrastructure in large areas...

After tens of thousands of years of preparation in the "small world," most of the order was stable, but it could not avoid the chaos caused by humans.

Imagine six billion humans opening their eyes to find their home gone, transported to a different planet, and then discovering a billion people with all sorts of inexplicable abilities. The original social classes are completely disrupted and reorganized. Even with the infusion of memories from a world game and the most thorough preparation, chaos is inevitable.

Amidst the deluge of data, the "social stability index" is declining at an alarming rate.

The meeting was chaired by an elderly man named Maurice, with white hair and a cold blue glint in his left eye. His voice, like sandpaper scraping against rock, broke the silence:
"Gentlemen, the situation is deteriorating faster than the 'Ming'an System's' pessimistic predictions. Conventional administrative orders, resource allocation, and even the intervention of peacekeeping forces have had little effect in the face of the spreading chaos and the vacuum of faith. The 'Cradle' Global Reconstruction Coordination Center is nearing its limit. According to the latest projections from the 'Ming'an System' based on global information flow and sentiment big data—"

Morris's voice was flat, yet it struck everyone like a hammer blow: "To 'deify' some of the top players and exploit the strong emotional projection of the collective unconscious towards 'saviors' to absorb and transform faith energy is currently the most efficient, lowest-cost, and most widely applicable solution for stabilizing global order. Code name: 'Project Hero'."

"Absurd!" A voice filled with obvious anger and sarcasm rang out immediately. It belonged to Dr. Victor, a scruffy man with a stubble. He slammed his cup heavily on the table, spilling a few drops of liquid. "You lunatics! You just finished a 'world game' that treated people like playthings, and now you want to play a 'god-making game'? Pushing living people onto a pedestal, living off the faith of others? What's the difference between this and the clay puppets worshipped by cultists? No, this is even worse! You are creating a living 'god'!"

“Dr. Victor, please control your emotions.” A woman with a surgical aura—the “social architect” Elise—speaked calmly, tapping her fingertip on the table as she said:

“Emotional accusations do not help solve the problem. The ‘Hero Project’ is not a religious worship in the traditional sense, but is based on the theory of spiritual energy fields and large-scale social psychology.”

“We are not asking the public to engage in foolish prayers, but rather to efficiently transform the energy of chaos, fear, and confusion into a centripetal force driven by order. This ‘faith’ is closer to an efficient adhesive and psychological buffer mechanism. It can reduce the intensity of conflict and buy precious time for reconstruction.”

"This plan was also used by the Alliance during the most urgent period after the sixth instance ended, during the ongoing World Game, and it was extremely effective."

“Heh.” Victor sneered, “So, what’s the price? The price is the complete annihilation of his existence as a ‘human being’! Once a person is placed on a pedestal by you, his emotions, will, and even his life form may be distorted by this power! What do you want to turn him into? A cold symbol that will never make mistakes and will always shine brightly? A ‘world battery’ that provides energy for faith?”

“The risks exist, but they are within a manageable range.” Another man, who appeared more refined, spoke up, his voice heavy with thoughtful consideration: “You’re so angry, why don’t you ask them for their opinions? The cost is small, but the reward is great. How can you be sure the heroes won’t agree?”

"Pah! Would you agree if you were in my shoes?" Victor retorted angrily.

“I agree,” the refined man said calmly. “Unfortunately, I can’t. I don’t have that kind of prestige and influence. Otherwise, I would be willing to throw myself into the flames to save everyone’s lives. If you object, you can cut off my index finger now, as long as you are willing to remain in favor.”

Victor's anger subsided, and he sat down, grumbling.

The conference room fell into a brief silence.

Meanwhile, off-screen, Su Ming'an's elevator stopped on the 256th floor.

The elderly man, with his white hair, sat in a wheelchair and slowly turned to look at him.

The aged eyes met the young eyes, and in that instant, it felt as if they had met ten thousand years ago.

“...Father God.” The old man bowed slightly, his voice gentle, a smile on his face.

"Welcome...cough cough...cough cough cough!"

"……Welcome back."

……