first player

Chapter 1589 Final Chapter: Guarding the Coastline: "OE: Die from the Ocean (12)"

In 2028, humanity will have discovered several planets.

By mid-year, humanity had completely pinpointed the location of Zhai Xing.

Su Ming'an thought it would take decades to find his hometown, but he found it in just three years.

"Lord of the Realm, that person from the Punishment Tower... wishes to see you." Ashkel of the United Government approached Su Ming'an.

The Tower of Punishment is a tower used to punish sinners; similar functions include prison towers, confinement towers, and purge towers. The "one" that Ashkelon refers to is only Eland.

As a top-ranked player, Aland made significant contributions to humanity. However, his eventual betrayal and defection to the Eighth Seat earned him considerable resentment, though not as much as the resentment towards Noel, since Aland had not caused major damage. After the World Game ended, Aland was kept under strict control. Considering that he might still be in contact with the Eighth Seat, people dared not execute him, but simply kept him imprisoned.

If Su Lin hadn't set up a barrier, the Punishment Tower really wouldn't have been able to imprison Eland, this god-level player.

"Let's meet." Su Ming'an stepped into the Punishment Tower. As soon as he arrived, he found people standing solemnly on both sides in formal attire. The tower master, who was about fifty years old, greeted him with a big smile. Fireworks went off, and everyone's face was full of awe.

It is said that the taste of power is intoxicating, and such a grand spectacle of being surrounded by admirers is indeed captivating. Su Ming'an frowned slightly and stepped onto the elevator amidst laughter.

The Tower of Punishment has nineteen underground floors. The more powerful the criminal, the deeper they are imprisoned. Su Ming'an looked at the list flashing outside the elevator and saw some familiar faces: White Skull, Bonnie, Su Shi... When he saw Su Shi, his eyes flickered.

The tower master explained shrewdly, “During the World Game, Su Shi did a lot of extreme things… After the World Game ended, in order to punish some people who gossiped about you, her methods were too harsh, resulting in some deaths. According to the law, she should be arrested…” He quickly added, “Of course, if she is your friend, we can release her immediately…”

Su Ming'an replied indifferently, "No need."

He spoke so casually, as if such a thing could no longer leave a ripple.

The tower master wiped his sweat, and Su Ming'an suddenly asked, "Do I look scary?"

The tower master trembled as he raised his head and saw Su Ming'an's gentle face. His brows and eyes lacked any tenseness; instead, they gracefully and naturally extended along his brow bone, like a pebble smoothed at the bottom of a river. His long eyelashes resembled the feathers of a night bird, and two black jade-like eyes emerged above the clear whites of his eyes, reflecting the light and appearing even more solemn and profound.

Three years have passed, and his face seems unchanged, only becoming more solemn and divine.

"No, it's not scary." The tower master glanced at it once and then looked away, his gaze settling on the empty space.

"Then why..." Su Ming'an paused halfway through his sentence, then said, "Never mind, I understand."

This face is not scary; it even looks gentle and soft. However, what is heavy is everything behind this face.

Upon reaching the final level, the Tower Master wiped his sweat and instructed, "Lord of the Realm, I know you are powerful, but the criminals imprisoned on the final level are in great danger. Please be extremely careful..."

Su Ming'an entered alone and saw a figure sitting in a chair with his head down deep inside the iron bars.

Even though he was imprisoned, the man's long hair still shone, and the most ordinary coarse cloth prison clothes he wore strangely gave off a monk-like tranquility, as if these humble prison clothes were just another magnificent robe for him to temporarily reside in.

As if sensing the footsteps, the figure moved and slowly raised its head.

An exceptionally handsome face came into view, with a straight, sharply defined nose and a strong, well-defined jawline. Most striking were his eyes—a pair of deep, almost pure blue pupils, like ice frozen for millennia in the depths of the Arctic, clear, cold, and containing a weight tempered by time. When he looked at Su Ming'an, there was no anger, no pleading, only an abyssal calm.

"Is this what you wanted?" Su Ming'an sat on a chair outside the iron bars, looking across at her through the fence: "Ayland."

Aland glanced at Su Ming'an and smiled, "Lord of the Realm...?"

Iron chains bound his wrists; these were chains invented by Su Bread to suppress a player's strength. Su Ming'an had been wary of the chains' effects, but Su Bread explained that they required a complicated procedure to put on, which put his mind at ease.

“I thought that after you became the Lord of the Realm, you would hold a scepter, wear a crown, and be covered in radiance…” Ailand tilted his head: “I didn’t expect you to still be wearing a white robe.”

“A leader doesn’t need fancy clothes and crowns; even in simple clothes and clogs, he can command respect.” Su Ming’an said calmly, “Ayland, I’ve been wondering about you for a long time. What do you and Noel have in common that made you decide to switch sides?”

"To not use the word 'betrayal,' Lord Realm Master is truly magnanimous and unable to let go of old feelings." Ailand shrugged.

Su Ming'an pinched Ailand's chin: "I have limited time, so please speak your mind. Otherwise, I am skilled in various interrogation techniques."

"I'm so excited, I can't wait!" Aland said with a slight blush, "Although I wanted to say that, let's get back to the main topic..."

He raised a finger, the chain jingling, and a profound loneliness filled the depths of his eyes:
"Don't try to find Zhai Xing anymore, Su Ming'an, you can't go back."

Su Ming'an's pupils contracted sharply.

"Ring—ring—!"

The iron chains swayed violently. Su Ming'an, through the iron bars, lifted Ailand by the neck with one hand, staring intently at him.

"Don't...move forward..."

Aland coughed and laughed, his face flushed red, yet his eyes remained as still as frozen ice, as if nothing in the world could stir a ripple in them.

"Don't go forward...don't go forward..."

"Ahead... is not... home."

"Boom!"

Su Ming'an suddenly let go, and Ailand slumped into a chair, clutching his neck and coughing violently.

A moment later, Aland, panting, smiled and said:

“Lord of the Realm, the reason why Norl and I changed our attitudes so suddenly is because we are both ‘Awakened Ones’… He is considered senior, and he can even remember some of the cycles of the universe, while I am still relatively junior and am considered an outsider.”

"Do you know? People like you are truly rare... Untainted by the Blackwater Dream, never having been a conscious being... You've been incredibly well protected, which is why you're one of the few remaining hope capable of defeating the Dream Lord..."

"Those who become conscious... cannot defy the Lord of Dreams..."

"That guy... gained the trust of many higher dimensions and acquired too much information by betraying you, just waiting for a certain cycle to break the deadlock... Unfortunately, unfortunately, you've made the wrong choice again this time..."

"I don't need your judgment on whether I've gone the wrong way or not." Su Ming'an picked up a white cloth and wiped his palms.

Aland's words stung him, as if he had returned once again to that crossroads of fate, the crossroads he had regretted countless times—forward or backward.

"Your logic is flawed. If Noel betrayed me to gain the trust of the higher dimensions and help me break the deadlock in the final reincarnation, then why didn't the Lord of Dreams guard against Noel?" Su Ming'an said calmly.

“Then…I…don’t know.” Aland took a breath, his eyes calm as a lake: “Perhaps, there’s no need to imagine him as so good. He’s just someone who’s driven by a thirst for knowledge…the kind of madman, a hypocrite, who doesn’t care about the world and is capable of anything…”

“He’s not important,” Su Ming’an said calmly. “Tell me about you.”

He threw away the white cloth, opened the iron bar, and walked up to Eland:

“You remember the past, yet you failed at the last hurdle, and now you’ve come to this.” Su Ming’an flicked the iron chain on the side of Ailand’s face: “You’re not reconciled, are you?”

Aland smiled at him.

“Work for me, and I will grant you freedom and wealth; in return, you will explore the realm of dreams for me,” Su Ming’an said.

"Now, don't you think it's too late?"

“The person isn’t dead yet, what’s too late?” Su Ming’an bent down, staring into Ailand’s eyes:
"It's truly too late when someone dies."

Aland's eyes twitched slightly.

“I remember your article in the First World, ‘A Brief Analysis of How Players Can Save Themselves,’ what a great article it was. I even thought I’d get to know the author and become friends.” Su Ming’an placed his hand on Ailand’s shoulder, his voice alluring and deep: “Now, we finally know each other completely… my friend.”

"Although I would love to have a deeper conversation with you, I regret to inform you that as an unofficial member, I truly cannot betray the Lord of Dreams," Aland said, raising his hands in surrender.

Su Ming'an's expression suddenly turned cold, and the glint in his eyes vanished.

“However, I do remember some memories from different reincarnations,” Alan said.

"For example, shouldn't we stop trying to find Zhai Xing?" Su Ming'an asked. "Why?"

“You could think of it as…” Aland thought for a moment, “an obsession? For example, if I continue searching, something terrible will happen… This fear is deeply rooted in my heart, and even if I don’t know why, I can’t forget it.”

"Too late. We've already found it, and even pinpointed its location."

“Oh…” Aland responded, his eyes like ancient glaciers: “Indeed, it’s too late.”

He turned his head away without saying anything, but a smile played on his lips.

Su Ming'an couldn't understand many people in this world.

He couldn't understand Noel, he couldn't understand Boss Rabbit, and he couldn't understand Aland. If he could understand everything, perhaps there wouldn't be so many misunderstandings and tragedies in this world.

He continued questioning Ailand, but all he got were trivial memories. Ultimately, Su Ming'an concluded that there was no longer any profit to be made from Ailand.

"What are you thinking?" Su Ming'an asked, puzzled, before leaving.

He clearly remembers so many things, possesses the ability to foresee the future, and is known as "Prophet Aland," yet he has ended up like this. Is this really what he wanted with everything he had?
Aland's eyes held a chilling weight and a weary understanding of the world.

He paused for a moment, then said:
"I don't know what I want."

"Because we've experienced it far too many times—money, desire, fame, emotions… these have numbed us to the point of weariness. Perhaps what people like us are pursuing isn't freedom and power at all, but rather an unseen possibility."

"This makes it no difference to me whether I succeed or fail, whether I ascend to a higher dimension or remain here. Because I have foreseen everything and experienced everything."

"So even if I die now, even if I'm locked up here for the rest of my life... it doesn't matter to me. Anyway, it's already something I've experienced. Even if you let me out, it's still something I've experienced."

"Do you know? Even the way you're questioning me now, the bluish-gray at the corners of your eyes, your pale face, the expression and angle at which you choked me—I feel like I've seen it all countless times, countless times..."

Ordinary people can hardly comprehend the weight of countless repetitions. Those who retain some memory are already utterly exhausted and numb.

Su Ming'an knew that no matter what temptation he offered, Ailand wouldn't take the bait, because it was all something Ailand had already obtained. What Ailand wanted was only liberation and the unknown.

The concepts of "liberation and the unknown" ceased to exist the moment Su Ming'an chose to move forward.

He could no longer access anything about the Lord of Dreams.

He was bound to this land.

“…Thank you for your warning.” Su Ming’an turned around. “Goodbye.”

"Goodbye." Aland sat in the chair, still with a calm demeanor, but this demeanor was more like a noble numbness.

……

In September 2028, the small world arrived at Zhaixing.

Following Aland's warning, Poseidon and Lu Shu, who had just emerged from seclusion, cautiously took the lead in exploring, while the rest remained in the small world to wait.

Su Ming'an stepped onto this land in his human form. He looked around quietly, and all the scenery seemed to have stopped in the past. Nearly three years had passed, and the coffee shop where he first met Xiao Na was covered in dust.

This café is located by the river, surrounded by willows and fresh air.

He stepped into the coffee shop, wiped away the dust, and sat down, as if the next moment, a red-haired woman would sit opposite him, claiming to be a Bilibili employee, inviting him to participate in a reality show game, and handing him a black card.

Reality game... Ha, it really is a reality game.

He stared at the empty seat opposite him, as if he had just completed a long journey, feeling lost and dejected.

"despair."

Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind me.

Su Ming'an clenched his fist instantly. Lu and Lü Shu were still scouting in the other hemisphere; there couldn't possibly be anyone here. So, the only person who could have come was...

With Ayland's warning, Su Ming'an understood that humanity's rapid discovery of Zhai Star was most likely due to being misled by someone. However, the moment humanity discovered Zhai Star, their location was also simultaneously revealed, leaving them with no choice but to respond.

"Tap." The footsteps drew closer, neither hurried nor slow.

The Sword of Damocles is about to fall.

Su Ming'an slowly... turned around.

……

What comes into view is a pair of blue pupils.

Three years later, they met again.

It is like a cold and perfect work of art, meticulously sculpted by time.

His brilliant blond hair, meticulously combed, shimmered with a cold, metallic sheen in the dim light. He wore a strikingly bright royal blue top hat, its brim elegantly tilted, a blooming rose pinned to the side. The eerie crimson at the corners of his eyes contrasted sharply with the cosmic blue deep within his pupils.

Wearing a perfectly tailored scarlet velvet vest, the red and blue colors collided on him, creating a strange yet gorgeous symphony, a perfect blend of ultimate elegance and danger.

Despite the familiar appearance, in Su Ming'an's divine perception, the person before him was a flowing, viscous, and eternal mass. This guy had already become a higher dimension; the human form was merely a disguise, and his true body had become something indescribable.

"You're so smart. You knew I would come back, so you waited for me here," Su Ming'an said, as if greeting me.

"Happy 21st birthday." The person in front of me smiled.

"Thank you. Where is Yuritilora?"

"I ate it."

"And the Lord of the End of All Things?"

"Served time in jail in Old Rovassa."

"What about you?"

"To end your life."

……