first player

Chapter 1574 Final Chapter: Guarding the Coastline: "OE: Die from the Ocean (5)"

Not long after, something extremely shocking happened in the world.

The few radical players who assassinated Luna held up her severed hand as a triumphant banner, shouting "The era of players is coming, and ordinary people are slaves to players." Such overly radical slogans infuriated people, but also stirred the hearts of a few.

...Players are high above others, able to become nobles without working...Some idle casual players immediately felt a pang of longing. They hadn't earned many points and were currently struggling, so hearing such a slogan couldn't help but spark their interest.

If such an era were to truly arrive...

Under the surveillance of the Ming'an system, they dared not inquire about the news, but secretly changed their thoughts and began to regard ordinary people as their own kind, waiting for an opportunity to erupt.

One of the radical leaders, Yuri Kru, went so far as to use the slogan "The strong are the masters of the world" to try to sow discord between players and ordinary people.

Lu Shu and his group quickly located the base of the radical players. However, this group was clever and used their old items and special abilities to build a floating island to conceal their location. They even suspected that there was a persistent higher dimension behind them providing assistance.

"I'll go." As a level three god, Lu Shu quickly made a decision. He would lead a group of high-level players to launch an attack and destroy the Sky Island.

This raid has captured the world's attention. Su Bread's retirement comes at a time of transition. Following Luna's assassination, the radical movement's reputation soared. This event will determine the direction of the world and shape the thoughts and fates of many.

With the Sea Emperor in seclusion to break through to a higher realm, Su Lin's whereabouts were unknown as expected, leaving Lu Shu as the strongest fighter. As the person in charge of everything, even with Yu Zhu's assistance, Lu Shu still felt exhausted.

"...If only that guy hadn't betrayed us..." For a moment, Lu Shu thought to himself. This was something that person was clearly best at, yet it had fallen to him, the person least skilled at it. Although the coalition governments were all willing to share the burden, some things ultimately required the highest combat power to weigh and decide.

The radicals' arrogance must be backed by a higher power. Knowing this, Lü Shu and his group still decided to venture into the tiger's den, prepared for a bloody battle.

To their surprise, they made their way up to Sky Island without encountering any obstacles.

I encountered none of the expected items, special skills, divine powers, or traps.

Amidst their confusion, the group exchanged bewildered glances. After a moment, they simultaneously burst through the barrier surrounding Sky Island, tense and ready to face their enemy.

But what I saw was a sight I had never imagined.

"Oh!"

The barrier opened wide, revealing a vibrant red color.

The scene was one of carnage and bloodshed, with blood flowing like rivers. The ground looked as if it were covered with crimson spider lilies, and the sight was filled with the bright red of flesh. Even the buildings were stained crimson. Countless heads, hands, feet, and torsos were shattered beyond recognition, causing some people to gag on the spot.

Wine glasses were shattered on the ground, flags were torn and collapsed, and not a single intact body could be seen; all that remained were broken pieces.

Sky Island, which once housed tens of thousands of people, is now only filled with corpses.

Amidst the hellish mountains of corpses and seas of blood, only one figure stood there.

He was dressed in a clean white robe, like a snowflake among thousands of blood-red roses, like a heron on a red sea. His left palm flowed with light, as if to avoid dirt. His shoes had slightly high heels, and he didn't get a single drop of blood on his feet when he stepped through the sea of ​​blood, as if he were completely out of place in this scene.

"despair."

The heels made a crisp sound, like crystal hitting glass.

"Ah...ah...ah!" Shirley, who had never seen such a scene before, collapsed to the ground, trembling all over. She was a lucky player and had never participated in such a massacre.

Even they weren't prepared for a massacre. They planned to kill if they could, and capture and try those they couldn't. After all, there were far too many people on this island, many of whom had fought alongside them during the world game, some even being close comrades...

Anthony remained silent, gripping his golden spear, not advancing, until the figure slowly turned around—

A pair of golden pupils were revealed.

The five white claws on his left palm looked as if they had drunk their fill of blood, revealing a satiated luster.

The glass-like heel turned slightly, revealing a white robe without a trace of blood.

He killed so many people, yet he remained as clear and pure as a magnolia.

"A stance is a stance."

“Even though we were once comrades-in-arms fighting side by side during the World Game…” Su Ming’an’s golden eyes were calm as he raised his hand, his body surging with immense energy.

He suddenly clenched his fist, as if crushing something fragile and weak:

"—Kill them without hesitation."

"If they can assassinate Luna today and claim that ordinary people are slaves, who will be next if it's tomorrow?"

“If we keep them alive, hundreds or thousands more people will die, and it could even affect the whole world.”

"If such a situation occurs again in the future, kill without exception."

His voice was icy cold; many people had never seen Su Ming'an like this before.

From the perspective of their teammates and the viewers in the live stream, the 19-year-old youth in the camera always appeared calm, composed, and powerful. Even though he had shown a crazy side before, by the late stages of the game, his performance had become quite stable.

His final act of saving the world, his willingness to sacrifice himself to become the World Tree in order to save one more person, is the epitome of benevolence, gentleness, and selflessness.

It was as if he had become a perfect god or Buddha, compassionate, righteous, upright, and utterly selfless, nailed to the cross to save all living beings, just like the Holy Son Jesus descending to earth.

As a result, people overlooked the darkness behind the title of "savior".

As a result, people have overlooked whether the "first player" needed to be ruthless and resolute, in addition to being merciful, to get to where he is today.

A thick stench of blood filled the air; there were thousands of mangled corpses alone, not to mention those already reduced to dust. Only a few tens of minutes had passed between the decision to attack the uninhabited island and their arrival.

Tens of thousands of people arrived in just a few tens of minutes.

That was a dizzying killing efficiency.

This makes one wonder, if he were to destroy the world one day, how long would it take? An hour? A few minutes?

Thankfully, that won't happen.

Lin Jiang whistled; she was one of the few who didn't change her expression, quite at ease amidst the mountains of corpses and seas of blood. She took a few steps like a ballerina, then suddenly touched her lips and said:
"You just said that even comrades-in-arms who fight side by side will be killed without mercy if they cross the line. What if one day we're among those people..."

"Su Ming'an... no, Lord Realm Master, will you kill us?"

Her gaze swept over Lu Shu, Aini, Shirley, Anthony... then slowly swept back and landed on Su Ming'an.

Su Ming'an's eyes were extremely calm:

"meeting."

"Hehe." Lin Jiang got the answer, her expression changed instantly, and she burst into laughter: "Luckily I wouldn't! I would never do something so pointless!"

She rubbed her neck vigorously, as if something was itchy, making it hard to tell if she was serious or joking.

In the early days of Worldwide, some people said that the first player killed many players during Worldwide, perhaps for reasons of competition, retaliation, or targeting. Based on this, they believed the first player was cold-blooded and cruel.

However, compared to what's in front of us, that's nothing.

—This is what is called the "first player," the first time he has truly killed so many people.

In the past, he killed either NPCs or players who could respawn. What could possibly drive him to turn his sword against so many of his own kind, completely stripping them of their right to live…

Just how angry and disappointed was he?
Su Ming'an retracted the "Devouring Claw," and his hand returned to normal. He glanced at his clean, white hand, which was no different from that of an ordinary young man, and for a moment he couldn't imagine what it would look like when it was covered in death.

"Phew... thank goodness, everyone's safe now." Anthony breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly shouted, "Su Ming'an, you did a great job! We were all prepared to die, but we ended up killing everyone. Thanks to you!"

His words immediately made everyone realize what he meant.

“Yes, thankfully Su Ming’an killed them all, otherwise some of us would definitely have been injured or even killed.” Mei Yani slowly patted her chest.

"Look, that's a planet-destroying cannon... These people actually managed to get their hands on something like that. Luckily, they didn't have time to fire it. If they had gone all in and fired it towards the city, how many people would have died?! Millions, tens of millions..." Qiuqiu pointed to a cannon that hadn't been filled yet.

"Thankfully, the Realm Lord intervened..." Joey said with emotion.

After the initial panic subsided, people gradually came to their senses and expressed their gratitude to Su Ming'an. Anyone with common sense understood the crucial role Su Ming'an played; he not only saved them but also millions of people. However, the visual impact was too great, and it was indeed difficult for people to calm down.

He kills in order to protect life.

Lu Shu quietly walked up to Su Ming'an.

Everyone else stood outside the mountain of corpses and sea of ​​blood, but he walked over, stepping through the blood-stained ground.

“Next time, don’t do it yourself. Just subdue them and hand them over to the court. Don’t get yourself involved in too much karma and killing,” Lu Shu said softly.

Su Ming'an's gaze swept across the crowd, but he didn't see any particularly familiar figures. It seemed his familiar companions were all busy with their own things. Hearing Lu Shu's words, he gave a short laugh:
"...You have indeed learned a lot."

He was jokingly saying that Lü Shu had read a lot of official documents and had developed a certain political sensitivity, which enabled him to offer such advice.

However, Lü Shu couldn't detect the laughter in his words.

Su Ming'an was clearly in a bad mood, whether it was Luna's passing or these disappointing humans, this heartbreaking development...

He once transformed himself into a tree, willingly sacrificing his own life and future, just to save those who had been abandoned.

As a result, among the people he desperately saved, some chose the wrong path and were killed by his own hands.

How could he be happy with one rescue and one death, one pick-up and one drop-off?
Before the game even started, he was incredibly clumsy at killing fish... Lu Shu remembered how flustered Su Ming'an looked in the kitchen during the New Year.

Su Ming'an took out a handkerchief and wiped his palms. Although his whole body was as white as snow and had not been stained with any blood, he wiped them again and again, as if he could never get them clean.

While people searched everywhere, gathering information and available resources, he remained standing in one place, wiping his hands again and again.

“Your face…?” Lu Shu stared at him.

Su Ming'an had already rubbed his hands until they were red, but he didn't look up: "I felt that wearing a mask wasn't suitable for closing the distance, so I used the power of 'faith' to change back to my original face. People remember my original appearance, so I can transform myself back into my original appearance."

This is the meaning of the authority of "faith": if you believe, it exists; if you don't believe, it doesn't.

Lu Shu's expression changed, and he whispered, "Are you really going to activate the authority of 'faith'?"

He heard that after Su Ming'an entered the small world, his "faith" authority became stronger as if awakening, no longer as insignificant as before. Because this was his world, and everyone belonged to the will of his world, the authority of faith was activated to the maximum extent.

However, activating the authority of "faith" also means—

Following in the footsteps of Siber.

To become "Bai Shen".

This is indeed the best way to take control of the world in a timely manner. However, it also means many drawbacks.

"..." Su Ming'an closed his eyes, wiped his palms one last time, and when he opened them again, his golden pupils had returned to their original blackness:

"Don't use it. I'll try again. There's always... there's always a better direction."

“Give them another chance, and maybe… they won’t go down such a radical path. When I was killing, I found that some people already regretted it, some didn’t even know about the assassination of Luna, they just thought that joining the radicals would lead to a better life… But it was too late. To prevent them from activating the planet-destroying cannon, to prevent any of them from being able to summon higher dimensions, I had no choice but to kill them all…”

"If it happens again."

He looked up at the sky, and a white handkerchief slowly drifted down to the ground.

"...Could it be that the sinner isn't a sinner?"

"What if someone I killed turned out to be a good person, standing by the roadside, smiling gently at me as I pass by?"

The handkerchief was soaked in blood and stained bright red.

……

Upon learning of the massacre of the radicals, the central command quickly dispatched a team of a thousand people, including inspectors, technical managers, assistant specialists, and field personnel, to handle the aftermath.

Resource transportation, instrument dismantling, body disposal, incident investigation... people worked quickly, like swarming ants.

After everything was settled, people left the floating island and looked up—

High above the heavens, the Realm Lord raised the dazzling golden sword of Yarman. His eyes were sharp as swords, and his figure was as indifferent as snow.

"boom--!"

With a single sword strike, Sky Island vanished completely, like a beach washed away by the sea. Thus, the radical faction's main stronghold, along with its people and land, disappeared.

Only one day passed between Luna's death and the complete disappearance of Sky Island.

Before the few who had a chance to celebrate the successful assassination could even react, they were stunned by the barrage of news, filled with immense panic, and plunged into utter despair.

……

As Sky Island shattered, Su Ming'an gazed at the vanished island and had a strange feeling.

It was as if he were standing high above the clouds, looking down on people's struggles and guiding them in the right direction.

He has not yet met a "despicable one of the Kingdom of Heaven," nor will he ever meet one.

That was already him, and he will always be him.

He closed his eyes and sheathed his sword.

"Click" sound.

Suddenly, the communicator in my hand rang, and Dieying's voice came unexpectedly.

"Do you feel better?"

"..."

"How about it? Do you need any help? The original price is one Source of Civilization, now it's free." Dieying's voice rose slightly.

"..."

"Why aren't you saying anything? Is the signal bad? That shouldn't be the case. Although I'm using your signal, it's fine... Hello? Can you hear me? This is Dieying. Strange, did I not send the message?"

"...I'll try again."

"What? Oh, I heard that."

"...I'll try again."

"Test what? Didn't you already know that human nature is ugly? You're exactly like Asa, you trust them too much, always thinking that evil people can be redeemed by kindness. But in reality, bad people will always be bad people. Deep in their blood flows the instincts that their ancient ancestors developed for survival and reproduction—the survival gene of 'self-interest,' the neural mechanism of 'seeking pleasure and avoiding pain,' and the vigilance against scarcity. Under the erosion of collective will, under the shroud of group fanaticism or authority, the individual morality of human beings is as fragile as thin ice, and ordinary people can commit atrocities. If you continue like this, you will be killed by them sooner or later."

"not the right time yet."

"Heh... However, your actions were decisive and ruthless, befitting a realm lord. It makes me look at you in a new light. Fortunately, you didn't let these people go, otherwise I would have really thought you were weak."

"You're helping me because you don't want me to repeat Asa's tragedy?"

"What does this have to do with me? Didn't I say it's just an investment? After Zhai Xing is destroyed, I'll be waiting for you at the end of the universe, Great Devourer."

"..."

“My only advice—” Dieying’s tone suddenly turned serious:

"Don't drown in your ideals, savior."

With a click, the call ended.

Su Ming'an stared at the communicator and slowly murmured to himself:

……

"Man is but a fragile reed, but a thinking reed..."

……