first player

Chapter 1628 Final Chapter: Crossing the Sea [53] "The Great Sage Yang Mermaid and the Unsincerous People Arrive (14)"

Casadia abruptly looked up, his bright silver eyes seeming to ignite: "This... Mr. Su Qing, right? You also know about anime?" He raised his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and forcefully swung it towards the sky.

"--Anime is the best! Vadashi will create the perfect Segai!"

Startled by the pungent smell, Su Ming'an took a half step back, his expression fluctuating and his face showing difficulty.

Even knowing beforehand that Casadia was from the anime world, this behavior was still far ahead of its time. When quiet, he was as handsome as a fragile piece of porcelain, but unfortunately, he had a mouth.

Casadia, having met Su Ming'an, a kindred spirit, immediately launched into a long conversation: "Don't you think? After wandering the universe for so long, only the worlds in games, anime, and comics can make us temporarily forget the cruelty of reality. Beautiful, exciting, full of miracles... that's the future we should be pursuing!"

"Oh," Su Ming'an replied in a deep voice, his expression solemn.

If Machiichi Yamada were here, he would definitely get along well with Casadia.

Casadia brandished his paintbrush: "Huibai and Antetoria have reached an agreement with the ruler of this planet, Ijurel, who agrees to our integration here. As long as we transform this planet into a habitable place for humans, we can come in!"

His words were filled with innocent yet fervent aspirations. Su Ming'an watched him in silence, finding it hard to reconcile the young man, so engrossed in his fantasy, with the traitor who had led millions to ruin and plunged the world into darkness.

"I hope so."

There were several other members in the group. The most conspicuous was Blake—a tall man with blond hair like a burning sun and piercing golden eyes. He laughed heartily: "This godforsaken place is quite colorful. I just wonder if we can hunt some wild game to improve our meals. I'm about to throw up from all the nutritional supplements!"

The other was Locke, dressed in impeccable British detective attire, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes sharp and calm. He said indifferently, "Black, I suggest you be cautious. Creatures in unknown ecological environments are highly likely to carry unknown pathogens or toxins. Moreover, according to preliminary scans, the bioenergy signals here are generally high; it's not certain who will fight whom."

"Tsk, Locke, you're still such a spoilsport!" Blake patted Locke on the back forcefully. "I've been through the World Game! My combat power is over 6,000, what am I afraid of these natives?"

“If the fusion fails…” Locke whispered, “Ark resources are running low, and we won’t have time to find the next planet.”

Blake fell silent.

"Can't it just go smoothly..." He scratched his head.

“Oh, right!” Casadia looked at Su Ming’an with shining eyes. “I heard from Ante that you are a ‘prophet’! Can you predict what will happen to us in the future?”

The expedition was extremely dangerous, so Su Ming'an lied and claimed that he had the ability to "predict" and could help the team avoid danger, which is how he got Antetria to agree to let him join the team.

“I foresee…” Su Ming paused for a moment. He only knew that he would be betrayed by Casadia later, but he didn’t know the details.

After thinking for a moment, he pointed at Blake and said:

“I predict that you will become a golden dragon with eyes brighter than the sun, named Ian.”

"Huh? A dragon?" Blake blinked blankly.

Su Ming'an pointed at Locke: "I predict that you will become a gambling and alcoholic devil, and you will be betrayed by your own son. Your name is Perlo."

"Are you kidding me?" Locke chuckled. "I don't drink at all, and I hate gambling even more. How could I have become that kind of person?"

Su Ming'an pointed at Casadia: "And you, you will become a demon who only chases joy and happiness. You will play with the world, toy with life, and not care about morality or human life. You will also be obsessed with a purple magpie, living and dying for him, and becoming a cosmic clown for him."

Casadia's clear eyes widened instantly, and she quickly waved her hands: "What are you talking about? I've hated birds more than anything since I was a child! I'd rather die than go crazy for a magpie!"

But the group quickly burst into laughter. Blake patted Su Ming'an on the shoulder: "I didn't expect you to make such an outrageous prediction to ease the tension. You're so likable, I even want to be your friend!"

The group laughed in a friendly manner.

Su Ming'an silently watched their smiles.

That's the feeling of knowing only yourself about the future.

They were destined to walk down an irreversible path, one deeply etched with blood and tears, and fate, like flowing water, could not be stopped.

Passionate warriors, calm and rational analysts, and imaginative artists... can transform into ferocious, bloodthirsty dragons, tyrannical and wicked demons, and mentally deranged sinners who delight in deities. The transformative changes brought about by time are unbelievable even to themselves.

Su Ming'an looked at the seed in his palm.

These are the seeds that Antetolia gave him.

……

"This is a 'seed of an artificial world' developed by human researchers. We haven't been at our starting point long enough to cultivate a true seed of the world, so we have to create one."

"You plant this seed at the base of the World Tree, and it will begin to transform this planet, rapidly evolving it into a habitable environment for humans."

"We're stationed on the Ark; the rest is up to you. We're counting on you."

……

"Look! That's the World Tree!" Casadia pointed into the distance.

It was a bright red beach, and they ventured deeper into an area formed by an amber-colored skeleton. In the very center stood a colossal tree radiating a soft glow.

A figure formed from a halo of light slowly materialized—the Watcher, Ijuriel. Her voice entered their minds, carrying an inhuman sense of alienation:
Welcome, guests from afar.

Su Ming'an took out the seed: "According to the agreement, it will help transform this world, making this planet evolve into a peaceful world until we safely settle in."

Igulaire's light and shadow rippled slightly, and the seed flew towards the roots of the World Tree.

[The seed has been received.] Igul's voice remained calm and unwavering: [Please leave this world as soon as possible, for time will pass swiftly.]

Mission accomplished, the team members all breathed a sigh of relief. Blake grinned, "Done! Let's go back! We're ready to move in!"

On the return journey, Casadia kept drawing, while Blake drooled over several fleshy creatures. Su Ming'an remained vigilant, sensing that something was amiss.

“…Brother,” Casadia leaned closer and whispered, “do you feel like something’s not right?”

Su Ming'an was startled by this address. The devil of fun called him "brother," which was absolutely hilarious.

"What did you call me?"

“Brother,” Casadia said innocently, “I always feel that calling you by your name is not appropriate; calling you ‘brother’ is better.”

...Cassadia is so perceptive that he could sense that Su Ming'an shouldn't be called "Su Qing"—it was almost like a sixth sense.

“Go ahead and shout,” Su Ming’an readily agreed, adding it to his list of potential insults. “You sensed something was off too? Why?”

“Something just felt off.” Casadia shrugged. “A sixth sense, I guess. For an artist, those flashes of inspiration are especially important. I can always sense something unusual.”

...It turns out to be an intuitive type.

"What do you want to do?" Su Ming'an asked.

“We…we’ll secretly coax Black and the others back, then sneak back to the World Tree to see what Ijullel and the others are up to, how about that?” Casadia revealed a somewhat wicked smile, which seemed out of place on his innocent face, making him look like a little dumpling.

Su Ming'an didn't want to go back directly anyway, so he simply "colluded with them".

Casadia claimed he wanted to continue exploring, which lured the easily fooled Blake back, and then he quietly pulled Su Ming'an away.

He took out a drawing board, which was his ability—the "Wonderful Drawing Board." With a few strokes, he vividly drew the World Tree. Then, with a few more strokes, he drew Su Ming'an and himself under the World Tree.

The next moment, the two of them actually appeared under the World Tree, just as they were hidden by a clump of leaves.

Su Ming'an glanced at Casadia in surprise. This ability to "create whatever you draw" was truly remarkable, similar to Si Que's ability to "create whatever you write." However, its weakness was also obvious: if the drawing process took too long, it might not necessarily cause direct harm.

"Shh." Casadia blinked and saw Ijurel talking to a white figure under the World Tree.

……

[Ijurel, you must make a choice. Only one of the two worlds can exist.] The World Tree's light flickered faintly.

Ijurel's voice was indifferent: "Can we only... save one?"

The white figure said: "The World Tree has already conceived the prototypes of countless 'creatures'—dragons, elves, demons, angels… These races are born according to the rules of this place, and are more adapted to the laws of the 'Mirror' than fragile humans. The Zhai Xing humans' proposal to 'let the planet evolve and create a peaceful world' is merely a fantasy; the planet's evolution is already irreversible."

Ijurel thought for a moment: "Then let's just tell them the truth, tell them that this planet is destined never to become a peaceful world..."

The white figure shook its head: "Now that the two planets have collided, if we tell them the truth directly, they will most likely choose to slaughter all life on this planet and use extreme methods to reverse its evolutionary process. Ijurel, prepare to execute the 'purification.' The moment the fusion is complete, use the turbulence of the double slits to eliminate all humanity. We cannot let the future of this planet be ruined in their hands."

Igulaire paused for a moment, then slightly lifted her skirt: "As you wish. The plan has been entered; the deception will continue until the very end."

Casadia's body trembled slightly. He turned around abruptly to look at Su Ming'an, his face drained of color, his bright silver eyes filled with disbelief and horror.

“They…they lied to us…” Casadia’s pupils trembled. “There was no peaceful integration at all…we, all of us were…”

The shelter they fought so hard to break into was a complete hoax!

Su Ming'an was stunned for a moment. According to the history he knew, when humans entered this planet, they passed through the "double seam" on the planet's surface and were transformed into the light side and the dark side. Then, Casadia stole the source of the world and infused it with two-dimensional elements, which caused the planet to evolve into a dangerous multi-race world.

However, the conversation he overheard revealed that multiple races already existed here long before the fusion, and it wasn't caused by Casadia, this two-dimensional entity! Before the Zhai aliens discovered this planet, it had already entered a period of multi-race evolution, and humanity's desire to create a peaceful world was nothing but wishful thinking from the start!
“Oh right…” Su Ming’an suddenly remembered that the reason he learned about this history was because he had a dream, but whose stage was the dream?

Lord of Dreams!

He was unaware of the existence of the Lord of Dreams before, but now he suddenly realized that the information he received from his dreams... could not be taken seriously.

Of course, he is also in a dream now, but it is more believable now because this is not the domain of the Lord of Dreams.

"So, Ijurel isn't as kind as I remember. She wouldn't shed a tear for Huibai and the others' sacrifice of losing their memories. From the very beginning, she wanted to trap and kill humanity, luring them into this dangerous world. Because this planet has already evolved in a dangerous direction towards multi-race conflict, if humanity learns the truth, they will inevitably launch a bloody invasion to seize control of this planet, causing mountains of corpses and seas of blood... She wants to lure humanity into this world and eliminate them without bloodshed." Su Ming'an's heart pounded. "Therefore, historically, humanity suffered heavy losses after entering Rovasa, becoming the lowest rung of the food chain... This isn't Casadia's fault, but a trap set by Ijurel and the World Tree from the very beginning!"

This makes perfect sense for Igulaire's actions—as the guardian of the planet, she had no reason to warmly welcome Huibai and the other outsiders to the planet. She deliberately lured them in simply to protect it.

But even if they knew the truth, what could humanity do? They couldn't find a second planet, and in order to survive, they had no choice but to resort to aggression... just like the Dawn System back then.

Two live, one live.

Su Ming'an's hand was gripped tightly, Casadia's pupils dilated to the extreme, and the last trace of color drained from his face.

Hearing such a terrifying truth made him tremble all over.

“We…we must bring the truth back! Tell Antetoria…tell them to prepare for war…” At this point, Casadia suddenly seemed lost, muttering, “But war…do we have to become invaders? Do we have to invade this planet just to survive, slaughter all the races that haven’t fully evolved, and forcibly make this planet peaceful…”

To save 100 million people, they slaughtered billions of lives on this planet... Were they "pioneers" or "executioners" of civilization?
Suddenly, they saw Iguler looking over.

The coincidence that they overheard this conversation was so striking, it was as if Iguler had told it to them on purpose!
A guess popped into Su Ming'an's mind—was it possible that Ijullel was also unwilling to sacrifice a hundred million lives and hoped that humanity would back down, so he deliberately told them this? The only one who insisted on sacrificing humanity was the ruthless and desireless World Tree.

"Brother, you must take the message back!" Casadia discovered that the paintbrush's teleportation function had failed, and immediately put on a light blue gauze robe.

"What about you?"

Casadia took a deep breath, trembling all over, and gritted his teeth, saying, "I'm leaving all the figurines in my personal space to you. Give away the life-size body pillows and posters for me. Remember to format my computer's hard drive... I've put all my skill points into defense and stealth. I'll distract her! You use your spatial abilities to run away!"

Having said that, Casadia turned into a wisp of green smoke and drifted into the distance.

The next moment, he sensed a gust of wind behind him, and it turned out that the black-haired youth had followed him.