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Chapter 1579 Final Chapter: Crossing the Sea [48] "Who Killed the Mockingbird (2)"

A cold wind ruffled Su Ming'an's hair, and he caught the delicate fragrance of wisteria blossoms. In the monotonous experimental city, he wondered which robot had the audacity to plant wisteria.

Neither of them knew the way, so they could only run forward with their heads down. The girl's red hair fluttered in front of them, like strands of flame brushing past.

In this rare moment of relaxation, Su Ming'an's tense nerves loosened slightly.

They remained silent the whole way, but Shi Ying spoke first: "Seven-star, how can I win you over?"

Su Ming'an didn't expect her to be so persistent. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Answer me a few questions."

"what is the problem?"

"If one day you become a very bad person, what would be the reason?" He was puzzled, wondering under what circumstances Shi Ying would become Tian Ying.

The red-haired girl smiled and asked, "If I answer this question, will it increase your favorability towards me?"

Su Ming'an stared at her profile.

She had a pair of rose-like eyes, beautiful and pure, without a trace of the seductive allure of the nightingale.

"If I were to become a really bad person... it would probably mean I've completely given up hope." Shi Ying tapped her chin with her finger.
"The Nightingale Clan possesses beautiful voices, yet they are restricted by being a lower race and cannot perform on a proper stage. If Rovasa's clan is meant to give each person a different mission, then my mission is to break my knees and fawn over those high and mighty men and women."

“I often think, who is really guilty? A tax burden as high as 60%, a 16-hour workday, even buying a loaf of bread and having it torn in half by the rulers... A poor family struggles to raise one child, yet they insist on having three or four. So, I became a victim.”

"I really don't know what's wrong with this world."

"We do not know who a lower race can become."

Upon hearing this, Shiroishi fell silent, and the emoticon changed its appearance (′⌒`).

“You’ve decided to sell him? He’s not your property,” Su Ming’an said.

“I…” Shi Ying paused, then looked at Su Ming’an: “Seven-star, I’m not a saint, nor am I great, I’m just a nobody. I did hesitate, but I did come back.”

“He is life, and you have no right to sell him. You can come to our little world, where you can have a rich life, eat your fill, and even sing on stage,” Su Ming’an said.

“Really…yes, I can go to your world.” Shi Ying was captivated by his description of the future, her eyes shining slightly.

Being able to sing on stage openly and honestly, being able to wear proper clothes... it sounds wonderful. She had worn too many unsightly clothes, and without realizing it, wearing clothes she liked every day had become a luxury.

"Click," she suddenly heard a crisp sound.

Su Ming'an opened a wooden box, revealing a rose-colored "dessert" inside. Its color was exquisite, and it looked incredibly tempting.

Shi Ying was immediately captivated; it was just like those expensive cakes in a nobleman's hall.

"May I try one?" she couldn't help but ask.

Su Ming'an took one out and shook his head: "It's not tasty."

He kept saying it wasn't tasty, but he kept eating it one after another. Shi Ying's mouth watered as she watched.

After eating twelve roses in a row, Su Ming'an let out a soft sigh of relief before closing the wooden box.

His head was spinning, as if he were floating in the sky, yet his consciousness was incredibly clear, and his thoughts instantly became sharp. As a temporary sedative, Rose Blood was very effective. He rubbed his forehead, unsure whether it was the lingering effects of time travel, the heavy burden of time travel, or the pink-haired man's attack on his mental strength.

"Da da da……"

Suddenly, a series of footsteps approached.

A squad of fully armed robots, with cold bodies and stiff faces, blocked their way.

"You two have caused quite a commotion. I am Chige, the manager here, and I would like to discuss a collaboration with you." The robot at the front stepped forward and noticed the two men, Su Ming'an and his companion, who were running around in confusion.

He was dressed in a sleek black suit and wore an expensive watch, clearly indicating that he was a superior here. He was surrounded by robots, their eyes filled with fear.

"Get out of here, I'm busy." Shi Ying said, as if chasing away trash.

"—Don't rush, we can talk this over, ma'am. I'm the manager here. If I press a button, this place will explode violently, and your pursuers will know you're here instantly." The suit-clad robot produced a remote control.

Shi Ying frowned.

"Shi Ying, I know you. You're one of the eight protagonist candidates, but unfortunately, your odds are the lowest. Nobody has any faith in a poor kid who crawled out of the slums." The robot in the suit said, "Compared to the noble Tian Yu and others, you're utterly worthless."

"So what?" Shi Ying retorted, clearly annoyed, "You stopped us just to belittle me?"

"No, no, no." The suit-wearing robot waved its hand: "What I want to say is—as the poorest and most destitute of the eight protagonist candidates, you are clearly just an ordinary person who has suffered all kinds of hardships in society—why would you risk your life for those high and mighty saviors?"

"Huh?" Shi Ying was stunned.

"In your arms lies the noble Son of Heaven. Beside you stands the renowned Savior, who once walked alongside Oliver, slew gods, and stood shoulder to shoulder with emperors… Compared to them, you are but dust." The suit-clad android said calmly.
"You finally found this white stone, and now you have a chance to turn your life around—and all you're thinking about is exchanging it for money? You're so short-sighted. Do you even know what owning it means?"

“What does it mean…?” Shi Ying asked hesitantly.

The robot spread its arms, its hardened features revealing a look of satisfaction:
"—The scepter of the new world, the throne of the entire world."

Shi Ying was stunned by those words.

"You are the first person to find it, which is equivalent to a kind of 'recognition of its master'. You can break through its defenses and obtain its vast energy. You are also a candidate for the protagonist... You are fully qualified to sit on the throne of the realm master." The suit-wearing robot's voice was seductive.

“Me…?” Shi Ying pointed to herself: “A lowly race, a stinking nightingale, a piece of trash who can’t do any work?”

“Yes.” The robot glanced at Su Ming’an, then looked back at him: “Especially since you have this savior by your side.”

Shi Ying hugged the white stone tightly.

The white stone remained expressionless, as if asleep, lying quietly in her arms, but she knew it was awake.

Silently, I watched her, observing the expression on her face.

"Moreover, it's far more than that." The suited robot smiled and said, "You know, the Nightingale Clan was not this mediocre in history; they were once a superior race."

"Huh?" Shi Ying had vaguely heard about these things before, but she only thought they were jokes from drunkards in taverns. She didn't expect them to be true.

"What led to the decline of the Nightingale Clan was a war," the robot said. "In that war, the Nightingale Clan used their beautiful singing voices to induce tens of thousands of people from eleven different races to defect to the enemy... The rulers at the time feared this power and were afraid that they would be overthrown one day, so they decided to cut off the vocal cords of all the Nightingale Clan members so that they could never sing again."

"The Nightingale Clan are heroes of war, but there are a thousand ways to smear a hero. Through repeated mudslinging, the Nightingale Clan became a symbol of darkness, their beautiful, pure voices slandered as the howls of witches. Their glory was given to other races, such as the now-powerful Celestials... who were actually once subordinate to the Nightingale Clan."

Shi Ying listened blankly, as if her whole world had been shattered.

“Dawn has come, and the world no longer needs a savior to guide us in the darkness.” The robot narrated: “The Nightingale tribe, who would rather die than have their vocal cords cut off, had their hearts pierced by wooden sticks and were hung on the execution platform, displayed to every race that tried to rebel.”

"And so, peace and prosperity reigned, and who would care whether the nightingales were guilty? If no race bore the sins of war, whose head would the sins fall on? In any case, the nightingales have already been slandered and cannot be cleansed, so let all the mud be thrown at them. In this way, at least some races are 'clean'."

"The remaining Nightingale tribe are merely those who wag their tails and beg for mercy. They are used to demonstrate the ruler's 'benevolence' by allowing them to reproduce, but they have completely lost their powerful voices and can only kneel on the ground and sing without any dignity."

Why did the nightingale die?

The robot looked at Su Ming'an:

"Savior, can you answer me?"

“I have seen a similar nightingale in you.”

Shi Ying stood frozen in place, completely lost in thought. Su Ming'an's answer, however, brought her back to reality.

Su Ming'an looked into the empty space, his eyes lowered in thought, without answering.

The robot shrugged: "I have a plan here that could overturn the world... and vindicate the Nightingale race."

Upon hearing this, Shi Ying couldn't help but look up, her eyes filled with longing.

"We want to make what happened back then happen again." The robot smiled.
"The world needs lighthouses, but when the sun rises, people will no longer need them. What we need to do is turn the world back into a dark forest, so that they will begin to miss the song of the nightingale."

"Once you consume the energy of the white stone, you will revive your bloodline and awaken the power of your ancestors—a captivating voice that can bewitch hearts and change the course of war. And coincidentally, I have contacted a dark god who will go on a killing spree, and you are responsible for stepping forward in the end to 'bewitch' Him to stop the killing and become the hero who stops the war."

"In this way, He gained enough souls, I gained the power He bestowed, and you will become the new savior."

The robot opened its palm, revealing a gem that emanated divine power. This gem was a token worn by the god, proving that his words were true.

Su Ming'an couldn't recognize which deity's aura it was; it was too vague.

Shi Ying stood still.

She always knew she wasn't a good person.

She deceives people, cheats them out of money, and deceives them out of their feelings; she cheats about everything. A complete liar, a thief through and through.

Throughout Rovasa, people considered her superhuman abilities to be beneath contempt, a disgrace to the righteous and noble protagonists. Many despised her, praising Tianyu and others online while condemning her to the ground.

Any post that mentions the protagonist will be met with a few insults directed at her, using terms like "seller," "liar," and "poor," as if standing on a moral high ground and being superior to her.

“This world has never treated me kindly, not even my ancestors.” Shi Ying gazed at the distant, icy white corridor: “If I swallow this white stone, I might become the protagonist, the world lord. The Nightingale Clan would become a noble race, and my relatives and friends would all rise to prominence… But if I choose to protect the white stone, I will still be that ordinary person who is always being cursed…”

...What are you hesitating for, Shi Ying?

Is there an easier choice than this?
This is infinitely simpler than carefully comparing 16-hour and 14-hour workday offers, right?

White Stone remained silent, listening calmly to everything.

A friendship that lasts only a few hours seems insufficient to make an ordinary person give up everything within easy reach.

"Alright, stop acting. You've already made up your mind." The robot waved its hand. "Hesitating for a few more seconds won't make you seem any more noble."

“Mr. Mechanic, may I ask you a question?” Shi Ying asked.

"You said."

"Were you... also once a poor person?"

The suit-clad robot's hard features twitched slightly. He straightened his elegant black suit and shook his head.

“No, I have always been noble and have never come into contact with lowly people. Also, please address me by my noble name—the esteemed Viscount 'Chigo Tastia'.”

"I used my intelligence to rise from nothing to become the manager and be granted the title of viscount, precisely because I was smart enough and ruthless enough. A kind but dull person can't accomplish anything."

"Admit it, Nightingale, this world has no place for stupid, dull people, like the white stone in your hand, whose fate is simply to be devoured."

This time, Bai Shitou still did not refute.

It's clumsy and dull.

It's just a clueless fool who actually thinks it's made a friend and that the nightingale won't eat a hard rock.

"Wait..." Su Ming'an pressed down on Shi Ying's trembling hand.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a figure standing in the corner. A head of beautiful, vibrant pinkish-blue wavy hair, and an exquisitely carved mask.

—She has pink hair!
The pink-haired man had been standing in the corner for some time now, as if he had been listening for a long time.

Su Ming'an grabbed Shi Ying's hand and retreated step by step. The robot also noticed the pink-haired man.

"Ah, the main character has arrived." The robot looked at the pink-haired man: "How about it? If Shi Ying is unwilling, you can cooperate with me. After all, I saw through the surveillance that you are very strong."

Shi Ying remained silent.

As soon as the pink-haired man reached out, the white stone in Shi Ying's hand flew into his arms.

The suit-clad robot smiled with satisfaction and looked at the pink-haired man: "Looks like you're willing..."

"Shh!"

Su Ming'an's eyelids twitched.

The slender, flower-shaped sword pierced through the robot's body, and he was hoisted up like a nightingale pierced by a stick.

"You... cough cough cough! You lowly fool!" The robot roared furiously twice, commanding the robots behind it to charge at the pink-haired man: "Kill him!"

...How could the pink-haired man, with his strength, not kill the robot with a single sword strike?

Su Ming'an's eyelids twitched.

Suddenly, he heard the pink-haired man's inner thoughts:
(Is that so? I am a lowly fool, the blood of a groveling sinner flows in my veins.)
(Yes, I should have swallowed the white stone; that would have been the best choice.)
(But I want to kill this robot I despise. I can do everything without him. After killing the robot, I will swallow the white stone and walk towards a bright future...)
"We can't let that pink-haired girl swallow the white stone!" Shi Ying immediately looked at Su Ming'an.

At the same time, Su Ming'an heard Shi Ying's inner thoughts:

(Although I don't care about the white stone, it can't fall into someone else's hands.)
In a split second, the robot, driven to the brink of despair, is about to press the detonation button—

A figure appeared in everyone's sight.

It was a man in black robes.

The man in the black robe took off his robe, revealing a head of soft golden hair and a pair of blue eyes.

The moment the man in black appeared, the suit-clad android, who was prepared to fight to the death, froze, standing still as if he had seen someone very important.

The suit-clad android had prepared numerous backup plans. If the deal fell through, he would detonate the building and escape through a hidden underground passage. He also had many other potential partners; by helping them, he could still become a confidant of the realm lord and enjoy a life of wealth and luxury.

But the moment the man in black appeared, the robot in the suit stopped pressing the button, as if he had seen a rose, a beautiful gem, and was unwilling to hurt the other party.

"My friend... have you come to see me?" The suit-clad android stared at the man in black robes and quickly waved his hands, saying, "Ah... you must leave here! This place is about to explode, it's very dangerous, I don't want to hurt you..."

However, the man in black frowned and looked at him:
"who are you?"

The suit-clad robot froze for a moment, forgetting to dodge.

The next moment, the pink-haired man's blade shattered the head of the suit-wearing robot.

Broken machinery fell to the ground, parts clattering and scattering, leaving only half of the heavy body, dressed in a suit, lying motionless on the ground.

There's nothing left here except scrap metal.

No one cared about the robot's unfinished words. Amidst the scattered parts, only the sound of breaking could be heard, like the content etched into a chip, repeatedly playing after a malfunction:

"Peach-flavored...machine juice...it's really...delicious..."

"We are free... Phoenix... Friends..."

"friend……"

"friend……"

……

The man in black robes tidied his disheveled blond hair and looked at Su Ming'an with his clear blue eyes.

“So it’s you, Phoenix.” Su Ming’an called out to the other party.

“Before that, Pinky, calm down, okay?” Phoenix looked at the pink-haired man: “Sell me the white stone, don’t swallow it.”

The pink-haired woman clung tightly to the white stone. Her head was bowed, and she seemed to be struggling violently.

"The only way to stop her from swallowing the white stone is to kill her," Shi Ying said. "Phoenix, let's join forces."

She took out a sickle.

Phoenix thought for a moment, nodded, and raised his sword feathers toward the pink-haired man.

Su Ming'an narrowed his eyes.

He suddenly laughed in a terrifying way:
"Ha, hahaha... hahahaha... so that's how it is... so that's how it is..."

Everyone looked at Su Ming'an with surprise and suspicion, while he opened the wooden box again, ate the rose blood, and walked forward.

“What are you going to do!” Phoenix shouted.

Su Ming'an activated the spatial defense, quickly picked up the remote control of the robot on the ground, and pressed the explosion button.

"--boom!!!"

The intense flames engulfed everything in an instant; the sudden suicide attack left no one with time to react.

……

"……Well."

Consciousness gradually returned.

Su Ming'an felt as if he were buried under layers of bricks and stones, with darkness all around him and the smell of gunpowder and dust filling his nostrils.

The explosives planted by the robot were extremely powerful, destroying half of the city, and even Ming and Phoenix didn't have time to escape.

The situation was urgent, and this was the only way for Su Ming'an to escape their pursuit.

Suddenly, he felt a movement beneath him. Looking down, he saw a pink-haired woman trapped underneath him, unconscious from the explosion. In the confined space, her legs were twisted at a grotesque angle, pinned down by the boulder.

Su Ming'an reached out and checked her pulse.

Her pulse was weak, and her legs were probably crushed. Her long, light blue hair was still clean and beautiful, like a glowing sunset.

Su Ming'an made room, reached out, and removed her mask—

"...!"

What came into view was a face that was completely unexpected.

……