Chapter 755: Chapter 752: "You.
"Based on the footage returned by the cruising drones, the Inner City Control Tower has been captured by our side, but the Enemy has regained control of the Central Political Building. The dust density is too high, making it impossible to discern the number of enemies, and the enemy leader remains unseen."
"Centered around Golden Gate Commercial Street, among the thirty-seven large buildings in the vicinity, at least a thousand enemy units are hidden. If we charge in directly, we’ll suffer massive casualties."
"The energy load has already overloaded, the Defensive Barrier supply is insufficient; if the fight continues, it’ll be a clash of blood and flesh."
"Therefore, please be prepared to die in battle."
In Doomsday City, within the large convenience store ’Walmart’, hundreds of soldiers and officers dressed in Underground City uniforms gathered among the aisles, with Su Xiaobi’s virtual image flickering in and out of visibility.
"So many have died, and yet there’s no progressive breakthrough! And in the end, we’re still expected to die in battle?" Bairde from the Tribunal complained after hearing Su Xiaobi’s words.
He paced back and forth in front of the store’s shelves, sighing heavily with each step. The officers beside him also furrowed their brows.
"Now the signals have suddenly been cut off, all communicators are useless—we can’t send out any messages. We can only rely on that unknown ’Mu Team’—this person has not even shown their true face until now, like a ghost on the network." Bairde continued his complaints: "If this keeps up, we’ll all be divided and destroyed."
Su Xiaobi didn’t speak, just looked at him indifferently. The emoticon above her head changed to: (＝.＝)
Ten minutes ago, the signal inside Doomsday City was suddenly cut off, all electronic devices lost their ability to communicate. This was true for both friend and foe. Bairde and the others guessed that this was the work of a deity—luring them in before cutting off all communications once all the soldiers from the Underground City had landed on the surface, leaving them disoriented and unaware of even their comrades’ positions.
They could only gather in such enclosed buildings and count the people around them to gauge their numbers. As for the next step, aside from the still-functioning ’Mu Team’, no one had any idea.
"So, it would be better not to incite civil unrest. Human resources are already scarce, and we’ve been fighting like this, consuming a lot of people. But then there’s the expense of pensions, and then there’s the fuel for artillery, bullets, cars—those are resources for heating! All wasted." The Deputy City Lord of Antofa City, Bogue, shook his head. He had always lived in luxury and now regretted his decision, feeling staying in his own city might have been better—he might still be unaware of the civil unrest in Doomsday City.
The supermarket, stained with dirt and blood, was somewhat gloomy.
"I fought in this war so that my children and the next generation of my old comrades could survive. And now you’re telling me we’re still going to die. What’s the point of all this? At least as slaves, we could live..." Bairde continued to complain.
Just then, someone suddenly burst out from the crowd.
Before Bairde had time to react, he was slapped hard across the face, leaving his expression stunned.
"—Talking such discouraging words in the middle of a battle, your grandmother, I’ll give you a slap!" Yamada Machiichi retracted his hand: "What’s the point of saying this now? If you want to be a slave, go be one yourself. Disturbing our military morale here—if you weren’t a soldier under Doomsday City, I’d have killed you already!"
"Yeah, everyone just calm down, there’s still hope," Player Anqi, observing the situation, quickly tried to smooth things over.
"Everyone, stay calm. Trust in Su Ming’an. If he knows about the signal interruption, he will definitely take action." The player Rock, dressed like a detective, pushed his glasses up and signaled everyone to be quiet.
"I heard the voice of God, He told us that we will definitely win this battle..." The Western European Player Artemis said as his expression turned devout, as if in prayer.
As the World Game continued to evolve, the unique characteristics of these fourth-day disaster players became more apparent. With a slew of chuunibyou-like delusions, few were considered normal. Each person referred to themselves with terms like ’Mage’, ’Believer’, ’Demon King’, ’Goddess’, etc.
Bairde snorted coldly. Yamada Machiichi’s prestige was higher than his, so he dared not say more.
"Report—The chief’s whereabouts have been found!" At that moment, a soldier suddenly burst into the supermarket, shouting.
Instantly, the previously quiet supermarket erupted with noise, and a spark of hope appeared in people’s eyes.
"Where is he?"
"Where is the Chief?"
"Where is Su Ming’an?"
Ever since communication was severed, they had not been able to contact the leadership again.
The soldier glanced around cautiously and chose to inform Yamada Machiichi, the person with the highest official rank present. He leaned close to Yamada Machiichi’s ear and whispered:
"...In the only church in town, surrounded by traces of a Barrier, we found the Chief. Noel, the Leader, sent me to call you over."
"I understand," Yamada Machiichi nodded.
He gestured for everyone to stay inside the convenience store, while he alone dashed into the rain. His figure was like a fleeing shadow, merging into the darkness, resembling a black bullet as he quickly covered several kilometers to the church. This was his main Occupation Skill, with a rather strong ability to escape.
Seeing this, a few Players, a blond girl spoke in a low voice:
"I heard Deity has a device called Emotional Resonance Device. Based on the detection Skills, It should have used it on Su Ming’an. Su Ming’an’s condition might not be very good now."
"What do you want to do?" a Player from Han Country, Liu Enhao, asked with a frown.
"I want to protect him; maybe he will remember me," the blond girl said; she was a Player of the Healing Series.
Dragon Country Player Zhang Daoxuan stroked his goatee, presenting an air of immortal grace: "If you want to help, then go help. In this day and age, genuine help is so rare. Just be afraid he won’t think you’re helping him, after all, there are too many people out to harm him."
Zhang Daoxuan’s young disciple, a shaggy-haired young man named Zhang Xiaoqi, said, "Master, I’m also unclear on why so many people are targeting him."
Zhang Daoxuan smiled wryly at his words.
"It’s not that so many people are targeting him; it’s that the one in ten thousand who dislikes him always seems to end up in front of his eyes, which makes us feel like many people dislike him. The relationships are too complex; you don’t understand it yet." Zhang Daoxuan patted his disciple on the head: "Let’s go and see as well. Maybe we can be of some help. After all, with the ancient martial artist Lv Shu gone, we need to find someone else to get on good terms with Su Ming’an. Even though we don’t know Su Ming’an’s exact location yet, there should be some traces around."
"Oh," Zhang Xiaoqi nodded, his expression still one of confusion.
...
At 9:48 p.m., Inner City.
When Yamada Machiichi arrived, the stately church was still quiet, no alarms or sirens sounded, and the area seemed very safe.
He pushed open the door and stepped into the church stained with soldiers’ blood and corpses, only to discover that several Players were already standing there. Players like Lu, Rimu Sheng, Rui Ying, and Qiuqiu were still at the frontline, inside the church were Noel, Violet, and Che. The three of them basked in the church’s warm light, resembling a golden painting.
However, as Yamada Machiichi stepped into the church, his first words were—
"Why just you three? Where is Su Rin?"
He looked around, and realizing the most reliable person was absent, his heart suddenly felt half as cold.
"Is Su Rin the only one left in your mind?" Noel said. "He’s not a Pokémon that can just appear when called. Now that communication has been cut off, there’s no news of him."
Yamada Machiichi coughed, realizing his faux pas: "What’s the situation with Su Ming’an?"
"I also... don’t know," Noel said with a momentary expression of agony, "I simply can’t... share his burden."
He shifted to the side, stepping away from the door to the back room. Yamada Machiichi tiptoed in and saw a very cramped room, with a device "humming" in resonance. Su Ming’an sat on a chair, complex red and blue connecting lines running from his forehead to his temples, like a bunch of tangled, cold snakes. His complexion was extremely pale, his eyes shut tightly, a sheen of cold sweat covering his face.
A black-haired girl was holding his pale hand, warming his fingers as if she could transfer her warmth to him.
"...Shh, don’t make a fuss," Xi Qingqian hushed when she heard the door open, gesturing for silence. Her wrists were extremely delicate, all the fastenings that could make noise removed.
Yamada Machiichi glanced at the scene and turned back coldly, "What’s going on here?"
—Why is Su Ming’an put through such tortuous pain again?
—Wasn’t it agreed that Su Ming’an’s task was already completed? Why start something new again?
"When I found this place, he had already started using the Emotional Resonance device. I tried to resonate with him, but failed. Someone like me isn’t suited to receiving other people’s memories, just a few dozen seconds made my head dizzy and forced me to back out. I hate becoming someone else," Noel said. "His decision is the right one, the deity’s methods are endless, we can’t let any information slip by. As the person portraying Acto, he is the most suitable to receive Emotional Resonance, even capable of gaining Acto’s complete memories."
"So you just let him be?" Yamada Machiichi said. "Looking at the time, Su Ming’an has already started for two minutes, anything over ten minutes could cause irreversible damage, and fifteen minutes will be lethal."
"..." Noel looked at Yamada Machiichi with a strange expression, as if observing something novel, and said indifferently:
"Why stop him?"
"This is Su Ming’an’s choice,"
"You have no right to give up on his behalf. All you can do is stay by his side, or just turn and leave, or end him when he can’t hold on any longer to avoid his agony before death."
After delivering this, Noel looked down and wiped the rose cane in his hands.
At that moment, Yamada Machiichi suddenly realized that Noel, who always appeared warm and cheerful, actually possessed a coldly rational side too. Even more, Noel’s cold side seemed incredibly cruel.
"No wonder Lv Shu didn’t see eye to eye with you during that time in Pulaya," Yamada Machiichi whispered. "You look at everyone as if they were ants, who wouldn’t be angry."
Noel heard this, his expression unchanged, as if he had conceded to Yamada Machiichi’s point.
The team had always had its conflicts, but they usually went unseen with Su Ming’an around. Once Su Ming’an could not make decisions, the sharp contradictions among them became prominent. The church was quiet for a moment.
In the room, only Xi Qingqian’s voice could be heard:
"...Ming’an, you must stay conscious in the end."
"...Ming’an, remember who you are."
She kept holding Su Ming’an’s cold hand, murmuring softly. The division of labor among the few people was clear, with Xi Qing responsible for assistance, and Noel and Che for vigilance.
Even just two minutes before, after sending away Sen, Su Ming’an chose to connect to the Emotional Resonance device alone. His teammates quickly gathered of their own accord, ready to complete the tasks of defense and aid for him.
"Yamada, Violet, you also have tasks," Noel said. "With the signal gone now, we need you guys to run around the city to notify players with Healing Series Skills or Mentality Series Skills to come here and stand by. Remember, not too many, only the trustworthy ones. Don’t spread the news too widely; not many people know Su Ming’an is here yet."
Yamada Machiichi’s expression fell, but he nodded nonetheless.
He took one last look at Su Ming’an, and as he was turning to leave, he suddenly said:
"Oh, right."
"How is Noah doing?"
Yamada Machiichi had a thing for blondes—the blonde Saintess from Qiongdi once made his heart race instantly, and now it was the same with Noah, although it was just friendly concern. Yamada Machiichi wanted to know how this blonde youth was doing.
He didn’t get an answer.
Noel did not speak, nor did Violet.
It wasn’t until Yamada Machiichi was about to leave the church that he heard Violet’s magnetic voice—
"He’s doing well."
"He’ll see the spring that was bought with life beneath the sunflower garden behind the city, along with his white bird friends."
...
A "click," and the Emotional Resonance activated.
Su Ming’an leaned back in his chair with eyes closed, hearing the sound.
Rustling, slight vibrations grazed his ear. Then, his senses began to fade, as if sinking into a dream.
A strange emotion surged from his heart, changing along with his senses. He lowered his head, and his field of view followed suit—as if suddenly he had entered Acto’s body, his vision, hearing, touch, and emerging emotions all beginning to align.
So, experiencing Acto’s memories was like being immersed in them.
[Everything began with the Century Catastrophe.]
Su Ming’an heard this voice—from his own mouth.
He looked down at his hands; these were Acto’s hands, broader than his own. He was no longer merely a spectator. A strong tide of sadness, regret, and despair rose from the body, gripping his heart: these were Acto’s emotions.
He slightly lifted his head, wholeheartedly accepting Acto’s memories—he needed to fully empathize, to live through Acto’s experiences from the past, ensuring no clues were missed.
As long as he could separate himself from the memories afterward, it would be a perfect act of emotional empathy.
...
[Year 1, January 1, After the Catastrophe]
His vision began to show images, with the date marked in the top left corner.
Yasa Acto, for Su Ming’an, had become "you," rather than "him."