Chapter 914: Chapter 911: "You Will Die in the Sky (Part 3)
The image of other players was different; the image did not directly enter the screen but flickered a line of white text:
...
[You will die in the sky.]
...
Instantly, the screening room fell silent.
Mizushima Kawa Sora sat in the shadows, staring at the line of white text, her eyes wide open.
... Die in the sky? This line of white text says Su Ming’an will die in the future. Could it be that Su Ming’an ultimately lost to her?
Even if she wouldn’t admit it aloud, deep down she had to acknowledge her fear of Su Ming’an. She feared his prophet-like foresight. Initially, she suspected he was the Organizer’s chess piece, but she later realized it seemed to be just his own strength.
She had also thought many times, if one day they confront each other face-to-face, would she lose everything, or could she overcome the long-occupied shadows in her heart?
She could already be certain that Mizushima Haru died at Su Ming’an’s hands. But after calming down, she thought that with everything Su Ming’an has displayed so far, it was most likely a defensive counterattack that led to Mizushima Haru’s death, and Mizushima Haru brought it upon herself.
Not being as skilled, she really shouldn’t bear hatred. The future of mankind was long tied to a single person, and she shouldn’t harbor hatred either. But the death of a family member, she couldn’t help but hate. She was always conflicted, not knowing whether she should hate or not.
She recalled that before the Tenth World began, Boss Rabbit whispered to her alone.
[-- Mizushima Kawa Sora, due to your special identity, I can tell you a secret about the Tenth World.]
[-- Organizers, you can actually leak information before the instance starts?]
[-- Just can’t interfere with the instance. Leaking some information to those with special identities is within the permitted range of the Rules. Like Noel Agnini’s watcher special identity, he could also learn information before the instance started, right?]
[-- So, what do you want to tell me?]
[-- The Tenth World is a very special instance; you can use all your "abilities" to try to "break the game."]
[-- Just this one sentence?]
[-- And...]
...
Mizushima Kawa Sora didn’t continue to recall.
The film had already started playing.
Unlike the clear images of other players, Su Ming’an’s image was somewhat blurred. The background couldn’t be seen clearly, and even the facial features of the person appeared fuzzy.
In the image, a priest, entirely clad in black, walked forward and knelt on one knee before Su Ming’an.
The camera couldn’t capture Su Ming’an’s expression. He could only be seen wearing a pure white cleric’s robe, the crystal crown on his head shimmering dazzlingly.
Players in the screening room craned their necks, trying to see more information.
"They all say you are a deity, are you really a god?" the priest asked.
"...Yes." Su Ming’an said, "I am a deity. I will redeem all your souls, remember all of you, save all of you."
The priest smiled: "That is wonderful."
He held up the hem of Su Ming’an’s robe and kissed it devoutly.
For an instant, the players’ astonished voices exploded in the screening room:
"...Wow! Su Ming’an really is the god of this world?"
"That guy who said he’d pee upside down, you don’t have to do it anymore, your prophecy was correct, Su Ming’an really is a god."
"Su Ming’an! Since you’re a god, don’t go with that damn death ending, erase it quickly!"
Su Ming’an sat in his chair, his expression solemn.
... No.
... He couldn’t be a god. Though there might be the possibility of a vest or cloning, in terms of the concept of "self," Su Wensheng, who is now living in seclusion in a small town, couldn’t be a god. Because Su Ming’an had one-on-one communication with the deity, he couldn’t control the deity.
In the image, Su Ming’an bid farewell to the priest. He walked step by step towards the dark direction; behind him seemed to be countless people, but all shrouded in a gray haze, making them indistinguishable.
"I am willing," Su Ming’an’s voice was very calm:
"No one is wrong."
"Keep going."
It seemed like many people were shouting behind him, many were trying to reach out and grasp him, but none of these people were within his vision anymore.
He swallowed something and then leaped, rushing toward the dark background, as if clouds brushed past him. Players could vaguely hear men shouting, girls screaming, old people crying out, and various sounds intermingling and echoing like background noise.
All the players quietly watched this scene, their hearts trembling with these sounds; no one spoke.
"Boom——"
A thunderous sound suddenly echoed.
The next moment, blackness swept over, engulfing the entire vision. Including Su Ming’an, clad in holy white, he fell into the immense darkness, his figure blending into the ink-black, disappearing completely. Including those voices calling him, they too fell silent at the same time.
Lastly, the camera transitioned to early spring, hazy, with drizzling rain.
A massive cemetery lay beneath the gloomy sky; when the black tombstone appeared on camera, the drizzle instantly turned into a torrential downpour.
The image was slightly blurry, but it was visible that countless people holding black umbrellas stood silently in front of the tombstone, holding flowers. The tombstone seemed to have a name engraved on it, accompanied by small text recording a life story.
In the last moment of the image, only a murmur, whose owner was unknown, remained:
"Because he died, no one will pull him down anymore."
"Looking at it this way, he truly is an eternal god."
The murmur was very faint and quickly dissipated.
"Plip, plip, plip," as if marking the end of the screening, the lights in the screening room lit up again, no new images appeared on the screen, and the image had ended.
Players remained seated; some wanted to speak but couldn’t find the words.
... In the image, the Number One Player died?
They stared at the finished image, unable to snap out of it for a long time.
Previously seeing Agnes’s death image, they weren’t surprised, as the death of top players had precedent. Seeing Lu Meng’s death image, players weren’t surprised either, since Lu Meng was an ordinary player, and dying in an instance was common.
In this game full of potential dangers, no one could guarantee they would survive until the end.
But when they saw the death image of the Number One Player, everyone’s hearts were instantly filled with a feeling of "impossible." They subconsciously rejected this possibility, as if they were witnessing an absurd and ridiculous drama. Even with the image right in front of them, they still couldn’t believe it.
"It must be fake." Agnes said softly.
"I don’t believe it." Lu Meng shook his head.
"Could it be a false illusion purposely shown to us by the Deity? But what would be the point, since the previous images were real?" Isabella muttered in a corner.
...He’s always been invincible, how could he possibly die?
...He’s always been omnipotent, how could he possibly die?
Five long months of intensification had already left a mental imprint on people, with the thought that "the Number One Player cannot fail," even if they were told that the Number One Player could die, they subconsciously resisted this outcome. Just like humans in the Primitive Age didn’t believe that Gods could die.
A nineteen-year-old child, but the brilliance and Honor behind him overshadowed his plainness with light, and those too far from him could only see the brilliance, unable to see the Soul beneath that plainness, nor the possible vulnerability. People wished to trust him, and he actively took on that trust, but what if one day he died?
His death would be the end. He is not only an indispensable existence to humanity’s Points but also the greatest leader in Spirit. He could be depressed, in pain, injured, mad, but he absolutely could not die.
...But the future told them that the Number One Player could indeed die.
Mizushima Kawa Sora gripped the armrest tightly, even if she found it hard to believe, she had to be sure. In this future, Su Ming’an did indeed die before her eyes.
Lv Shu silently stared at the screen; actually, by the third image, when he saw himself swinging a knife continuously on the screen, he already had a premonition that in that state, he was soulless.
Noel squinted his eyes; he was probably the least flustered among everyone present. He roughly understood that these images were just the Deity’s own predictions, not the real future. Because the luckiest and unluckiest thing is—that the Number One Player truly will not die.
The luckiest, the unluckiest.
So he will never abandon the heavy burdens and shackles on his body.
"—Su Ming’an! You must remember the details in the images, if you notice any similar situations around you, make sure not to die like in the film!" someone shouted.
Su Ming’an was stunned, looking towards the source of the voice, unable to see who it was.
The next moment, someone else shouted.
"Su Ming’an, I will help you watch out for similar situations, if scenes similar to those in the images really appear, I will protect you!" someone was shouting, the voice very firm.
"Number One Player, if you encounter something too dangerous, absolutely don’t go by yourself. Look in the image, clearly you went by yourself again. Call us if anything, we will help you!" a girl’s voice rang out, though trembling, she insisted on finishing.
"According to the situation in the images, Number One Player, if one day you meet a Priest, be extra careful!" a child’s voice.
"Mizushima Kawa, you’re on the scene, right? Can you cooperate a bit with Su Ming’an?"
"Number One Player, which country are you in now? Can we come help you?"
The voices became more and more mixed, merging eventually into a sea.
Su Ming’an sat in the chair, surrounded by all sorts of voices. He seemed to see countless eyes casting their gaze at him through the mist, warm, caring, furtive...
It seemed that since the Ninth World, after witnessing Yasa Acto’s deeds, people seemed to realize something.
"I..." Su Ming’an spoke.
...
[The image showing has ended.]
[Will transmit everyone back to their original places...]
[As a special event reward, each viewer receives 200 Dream Patrol Spirit Points.]
...
The next moment, with a flash of white light, Su Ming’an returned to the bed, and the voices in his ears instantly vanished.
He held the Dream Patrol Helmet in his arms, still maintaining his original posture.
Du hurriedly spoke, having held it in for a long time:
"Anjiang, you will die!"
"...Mm." Su Ming’an acknowledged.
"Anjiang, what are we going to do! How about from now on, you don’t interact with any Priest at all! It’s all after you interact with a Priest that a death outcome happens! And we can’t even see that Priest’s face clearly." Du said anxiously.
"..."
"Also, that Priest actually called you God, how do you resemble a God, no taste. But the Crystal Crown you wear in the future is quite pretty, I want it too, hehe."
Though Du’s intelligence was sufficient, her emotional intelligence seemed lacking. The conversation inadvertently turned to head accessories.
Su Ming’an pressed the sleep button to quiet her down.
He lifted his head, just in time to see the mirror in the room. In the mirror, his complexion was suddenly white, with heavy dark circles under his eyes, and he looked very tired.
But he wasn’t sure if it was just an illusion, he vaguely saw a white streak in the mirror, as if his hair had suddenly turned completely white at a moment’s notice. The next second, he immediately focused on observing, but found the white hair just an illusion, his hair still pure black.
"..."
Su Ming’an confirmed a few times more, and the mirror showed no changes.
After checking the clock beside him, he put on the Dream Patrol Helmet, with a "click," the game started.
...
Present world, Huo Muli’er Nation, capital city.
The world is changing rapidly.
The collision between the Old Nobles’ privileged class and the emerging Dream Patrol Family, the legal reform brought by the revival of Spiritual Energy era, the increasingly expanding frontline Black Mist, and the immense pressure accumulated during the wartime era—all of these have piled up into teetering bricks, collectively supporting the aerial castle known as the "human" race.
Politics, economy, livelihood, environment, international landscape.
After the Union Government’s "First Union Accord," the conflicts seem to be intensifying, with a large number of historical issues gradually piling up into a gunpowder keg ready to be ignited at any time. Just a fuse is needed to trigger a terrifying explosion sweeping across several nations.
In Huo Muli’er Nation, a black-haired youth stood on stage, delivering a founding speech.
Recently, such forces establishing new nations have not been uncommon. Many ambitious individuals were dissatisfied with the rule of fifty-eight independent political entities and wanted to establish their own country. But most quickly drowned in the tides of the era, failing in nation-building due to resource scarcity, leaving not the slightest ripple in history.
A pure black flag fluttered in the wind, and millions of devout citizens gathered below the stage, listening to the black-haired youth’s words as if they had already merged with his emotions.
"The Dream Patrol Era has arrived, everyone." The black-haired youth pronounced loudly.
If any Players were present below the stage, they would quickly recognize that the ambitious black-haired youth on stage had the same face as Su Ming’an.
"My initial intention was simply to establish a nation that could accommodate all Black Mist Disease patients. To provide you a place to stay, where you won’t be discriminated against by normal people, won’t be hunted by the military, and won’t be burned by the Church’s Holy Alliance Army."